Reduced glycine receptor in the spinal cord in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Transmitter receptor binding was estimated in the spinal cord of 6 subjects with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and 4 control subjects in assays using 3H-quinuclidinyl benzilate for muscarinic cholinergic receptors, 3H-strychnine for glycinergic receptors, 3H-spiroperidol for dopaminergic receptors, 3H-muscimol for GABAergic receptors, and 3H-dihydroalprenolol for beta-adrenergic receptors. In ALS, glycinergic receptor binding was greatly reduced in the anterior gray matter. This finding may be attributed to loss of large neurons in the anterior gray matter, known to be characteristic of ALS.