Presence of 4-hydroxynonenal in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

A marker of lipid peroxidation 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) was elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of a patient with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (sALS) compared with that of most patients with other neurological diseases. Such elevations of HNE were sufficient to kill cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-differentiated motor neuron hybrid cells in vitro, and anti-oxidants prevented this HNE-dependent cell death. These data suggest that oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation are associated with and may promote motor neuron degeneration in sALS.