Liquid-chromatographic measurement of taurine in cerebrospinal fluid of normal individuals and patients with meningitis.

Taurine was measured in cerebrospinal fluid by reacting it with fluorescamine to form a fluorescent derivative, followed by separation on a reversed-phase column and fluorometric detection and evaluation. The assay is rapid (17 min) and sensitive to as little as 1 mumol/L. The mean value for 27 cerebrospinal fluid samples collected from patients free from meningitis and aneurysm was 5.7 +/- 1.8 mumol/L. Twenty-two patients with bacterial meningitis showed a 0- to 20-fold increase in cerebrospinal fluid taurine, with a return to normal values after antibiotic treatment.