Plasma glutamate and glycine levels in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Andreadou, E; Kapaki, E; Kokotis, P; Paraskevas, GP; Katsaros, N; Libitaki, G; Petropoulou, O; Zis, V; Sfagos, C; Vassilopoulos, D

dc.contributor.author	Andreadou, E	en
dc.contributor.author	Kapaki, E	en
dc.contributor.author	Kokotis, P	en
dc.contributor.author	Paraskevas, GP	en
dc.contributor.author	Katsaros, N	en
dc.contributor.author	Libitaki, G	en
dc.contributor.author	Petropoulou, O	en
dc.contributor.author	Zis, V	en
dc.contributor.author	Sfagos, C	en
dc.contributor.author	Vassilopoulos, D	en
dc.date.accessioned	2014-03-01T01:57:34Z
dc.date.available	2014-03-01T01:57:34Z
dc.date.issued	2008	en
dc.identifier.issn	0258-851X	en
dc.identifier.uri	https://dspace.lib.ntua.gr/xmlui/handle/123456789/28441
dc.subject	amyotrophic lateral sclerosis	en
dc.subject	glutamate	en
dc.subject	glycine	en
dc.subject	excitotoxicity	en
dc.subject	plasma	en
dc.subject.classification	Medicine, Research & Experimental	en
dc.subject.other	AMINO-ACID LEVELS	en
dc.subject.other	CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID	en
dc.subject.other	AUTORADIOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION	en
dc.subject.other	BINDING-SITES	en
dc.subject.other	SPINAL-CORD	en
dc.subject.other	METABOLISM	en
dc.subject.other	NEUROTRANSMITTER	en
dc.title	Plasma glutamate and glycine levels in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis	en
heal.type	journalArticle	en
heal.language	English	en
heal.publicationDate	2008	en
heal.abstract	Defective glutamate (Glu) metabolism and glutamate excitotoxicity have been implicated in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Glycine (Gly), the main inhibitory neurotransmitter, has been shown to potentiate excitatory transmission. In the present study, the levels of Glu and Gly in fasting plasma were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in 20 healthy volunteers and in 65 untreated ALS patients. Increased plasma Glu levels were observed in ALS (p = 0.05), correlating with longer disease duration (p = 0.03, beta=0.34) and male gender (p=0.02). Furthermore, the increase was found only in the spinal subtype of the disease (p = 0.03), while in the bulbar subtype, no significant increase was noted. As regards plasma Gly, no difference was observed between patients and controls; however female patients had higher levels than males. The above results are compatible with the "glutamate hypothesis" of ALS and suggest that the spinal and bulbar-onset subtypes of the disease may be biochemically different.	en
heal.publisher	INT INST ANTICANCER RESEARCH	en
heal.journalName	IN VIVO	en
dc.identifier.isi	ISI:000253841300023	en
dc.identifier.volume	22	en
dc.identifier.issue	1	en
dc.identifier.spage	137	en
dc.identifier.epage	141	en