A method for the determination of glutamine in cerebrospinal fluid and the results in hepatic coma.

The free amino-acids normally present in cerebrospinal fluid are leucine, valine, alanine, glycine, serine, and glutamine. The concentration of each amino-acid is much less than that found in plasma, with the exception of glutamine, which is in higher concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid. Walshe (1951) examined the cerebrospinal fluid of three patients in hepatic coma by paper chromatography and found an excess of glutamine. This important observation suggested that if a simple method for the quantitative determination of the glutamine content of the cerebrospinal fluid could be developed, such an estimation might prove valuable in the differential diagnosis of cases of hepatic