ascorbic-acid and Alcohol-Amnestic-Disorder

Concentrations of HVA, 5-HIAA, ascorbic acid, and uric acid in the lumbar and cisternal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were measured in psychiatric and neurologically impaired patients. The concentration of HVA is 6.1 times and of 5-HIAA 2.7 times higher in cisternal than in lumbar samples, the cisternal level of uric acid is half that of the lumbar region, but no significant differences were found in ascorbic acid concentrations. Correlation between lumbar and cisternal metabolite concentrations is high for 5-HIAA and ascorbic acid, and is less for HVA and uric acid. In cisternal CSF there is a significant correlation between levels of HVA-5-HIAA, 5-HIAA-ascorbic acid, and 5-HIAA-uric acid. These correlations disappear in lumbar CSF. These findings indicate that extrapolations to cisternal neurotransmitter metabolite concentration from lumbar measures are unwarranted for HVA, but not for 5-HIAA.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Alcohol Amnestic Disorder; Ascorbic Acid; Brain; Dementia; Female; Homovanillic Acid; Humans; Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid; Male; Middle Aged; Neurocognitive Disorders; Schizophrenia; Uric Acid

Topics: Alcohol Amnestic Disorder; Ascorbic Acid; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Scurvy

1. A group of 129 patients with chronic alcoholism were assessed for their nutritional status with respect to certain minerals and vitamins, and compared with control subjects. 2. In all subjects the plasma values were normal for calcium, magnesium and zinc. 3. As in other studies a seasonal variation was found in the plasma levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the control subjects and the alcoholic subjects; in all seasons lower levels were found in the alcoholics than in the controls, but none of the alcoholic patients had results in the range found in osteomalacia. 4. The alcoholic subjects had low levels of ascorbic acid both in the plasma and in the leucocytes. 5. Although vitamin A and beta-carotene levels were within the reference range, the results in alcoholics were found to be lower than in the control subjects. 6. We suggest that subclinical vitamin deficiencies other than thiamine deficiency contribute to the cerebral impairment frequently found in alcoholism.

Topics: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D 2; Adult; Aged; Alcohol Amnestic Disorder; Alcoholism; Ascorbic Acid; Avitaminosis; Calcium; Carotenoids; Female; Humans; Hydroxycholecalciferols; Leukocyte Count; Magnesium; Male; Middle Aged; Seasons; Zinc