Concentration of Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid in Ventricular and Lumbar Cerebrospinal Fluid

GAMMA-HYDROXYBUTYRIC acid (GHB) is a metabolite of an important inhibitory neuro-transmitter in the brain, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).1 , 2 However, GHB is itself a neuroactive compound that has several potent neuropharmacologic and neurophysiologic effects.3 Among the latter is the ability to produce an age-dependent seizure state in animals; this condition bears electrical, clinical, and pharmacologic resemblance to myoclonic and absence seizures in human beings.4 5 6 7 GHB has been shown to be present in the human brain and to have a discrete regional distribution8; however, there are no published data on the presence of GHB in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The object of . . .