Neuropeptide hormones in cerebrospinal fluid. Experimental and clinical aspects

Neuroendocrinologists are now realising that the brain-pituitary relationships in man are more complex than they had previously thought. It seems that the brain is also a gland, whereas the pituitary produces neuropeptide hormones which work in the brain. Since most substances which carry information between those two neuroendocrine partners are present in cerebrospinal fluid, it is natural to assume that cerebrospinal fluid has an important role as a carrier of molecular signals between the brain and pituitary. Whether or not the analysis of cerebrospinal fluid neuropeptide hormones will give more information about the brain activity in neurological and psychiatric patients is not yet known exactly despite some promising new findings.