Endogenous neuropeptides in patients with acute traumatic head injury. II: Changes in the levels of cerebrospinal fluid substance P, serotonin and lipid peroxidation products in patients with head trauma.

The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of substance P (SP), serotonin (5-HT) and lipid peroxidation (LPx) products were measured in patients with traumatic head injury and then compared to the levels obtained from control subjects. CSF samples were collected from 45 patients (31 male, 14 female, aged 19.2 +/- 17.79) within 24 h of the head trauma and the control CSF samples were obtained from 25 healthy subjects (23 male, 2 female, aged 51.44 +/- 17.6 years) having minor surgical operations under spinal anaesthesia. CSF SP and 5-HT levels in patients with head trauma were significantly lower than the levels in controls (P < 0.005, P < 0.001, respectively). On the other hand, the CSF Lpx products were significantly increased in patients with head trauma (P < 0.001). No significant correlation was found between the CSF changes and the admission Glasgow Coma Scale scores of the patients. This study constitutes the second part of our work on endogenous neuropeptides in patients with traumatic head injury and it emphasizes the role of SP, 5-HT and lipid peroxidation as additional endogenous factors in traumatic head injuries.