Pilot study of the relationship of free amino acids in serum and in the cerebrospinal fluid of horses

In a blind study serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of control horses and of horses in hepatic coma after chronic food intoxication with Senecio alpinus were collected simultaneously and the composition of free amino acids was determined. The hepatic encephalopathy index in serum (less than 1.65) and in CSF (less than 1.11) of liver patients was distinctly less than to the control values in serum (greater than 2.42) and in CSF (greater than 1.49). The serum concentrations of glutamic acid in hepatic coma were elevated five-fold in comparison to the controls. An indication of ammonia decontamination was that nearly ten-fold higher values of glutamine were found in the cerebrospinal fluids of patients than in serum. In comparison to controls the serum levels of glutamine in horses with hepatic encephalopathy were decreased by the factor 0.7.