[Free fatty acids and hydrocarbons in cerebrospinal fluid (author's transl)].

Initial experiments on the constant appearance of unesterified fatty acids and hydrocarbons in cereborspinal fluid are presented. With the present method of analysis, these two groups of substances can always be detected in cerebrospinal fluid. The constitution of the unesterified fatty acids as well as the hydrocarbons was determined using gaschromatography linked to mass spectrometry. There is no evidence that the unesterified fatty acids are derived from the blood, or that they are breakdown products of other lipid classes of the cerebrospinal fluid. The origin and significance of the hydrocarbons are not yet known, and remain the subject of further investigations.