[Endogenous morphines in chronic progressive diseases of the central nervous system]

Using radioimmunoassay the authors studied concentrations of beta-endorphine and metenkephalin in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 65 patients with various diseases of the central nervous system (CNS)--hereditary extrapyramidal disorders, disseminated sclerosis (DS), lateral amyotrophic sclerosis (LAS), spinal tumours, senile dementia, some CNS impairments of inflammatory nature. Patients with spinal tumours showed a 4-14-fold elevation in metenkephalin levels along with a comparatively high content of beta-endorphine. In senile dementia, the concentration of both peptides was lowered. In hereditary extrapyramidal diseases, the levels of beta-endorphine were also low, while there was no concomitant decrease in the metenkephalin concentration.