An investigation of the activities of 3-hydroxykynureninase and kynurenine aminotransferase in the brain in Huntington's disease.

Previous reports have indicated abnormalities in the concentrations of metabolites of the tryptophan/kynurenine pathway in the brain in Huntington's disease. These have included an increase in 3-hydroxykynurenine and both increases and decreases in kynurenic acid. The activities of two enzymes involved in the metabolism of these compounds, 3-hydroxykynureninase and kynurenine aminotransferase, have been determined in post mortem brain tissue taken from Huntington's disease patients and control subjects.