Serotonin Metabolism in Paralysis Agitans.

Abstract

SummaryUrinary excretion of 5-hydroxyindole compounds before and after 5-hy-droxytryptophan infusion was studied in paralysis agitans and a control group of other neurological disorders. The findings appear to rule out a systemic defect of serotonin metabolism associated with basal ganglia dysfunction in these patients. However, a localized biochemical or physiological lesion within the central nervous system involving 5-hydroxyindoles remains a speculative possibility.