[Serum content of alpha-amino nitrogen in patients with stroke]

The concentration of alpha-amino nitrogen in the serum of 18 healthy subjects, 17 patients with cerebral haemorrhage, and 23 patients with encephalomalacia due to thrombosis was determined by the colorimetric ninhydrin method of Moore and Stein modified by Slavik. The determinations were done on the 1st, 3rd and 10th days of the disease. The mean concentration of alpha-amino nitrogen in the serum of patients with cerebral haemorrhage was lower than in controls on the 1st and 3rd days of the disease but the difference was not significant statistically. The mean level of alpha-amino nitrogen in the serum of patients with encephalomalacia was lower on the 1st day than in controls while on the 3rd and 10th day it was slightly higher as compared with controls, however, statistically the differences were not significant. The mean values of alpha-amino nitrogen in the serum of patients with cerebral haemorrhage and those with encephalomalacia gradually approached the control values.