Abstract
We investigated the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), results of the mini-mental state test (MMST) and radiological evaluations in 24 patients with multiple infarction. All patients were diagnosed as having multiple infarction by computed tomography (CT), and the SOD activity of the CSF was measured by the nitrite method as modified by Oyanagi. We also examined the MMST and calculated three indices of brain atrophy [the brain-atrophy index (BAI), ventricular area index (VAI), and periventricluar lucency area index (PAT)] by measuring regions of interest on CT images. The results showed that the SOD activity of the CSF was significantly correlated with the degree of brain atrophy (total SOD vs. VAT, p<0.01; Mn SOD vs. BAI, p<0.01; Cu-Zn SOD vs. VAI, p<0.02), but PAT and MMST revealed no correlation with the SOD activity of the CSF. It is concluded that the SOD activity of the CSF underwent a gradual decrease in accordance with brain atorphy in the patients with multiple infarction.
