Abstract: In order to study the neurobiochemical changes and excitotoxicity to neural cells of the excitatory amino acids(EAAs)in cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)after acute brain injury, a total of 30 patients were classified into 3 groups according to the score of Glasgow Coma Scale(GCS): mild, moderate and severe groups, while the other 10 patients were observed as the controls. Fresh CSF was sampled by lumbar puncture no later than 48 h after brain injury in all cases. Concentrations of the EAAs were measured by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC). The result showed that the mean concentration of EAAs in CSF of severe, moderate and mild groups were significantly higher in order than that of the controls. The result indicates that the implication of this study is that acute brain injured patrents are exposed to a high concentrations of EAAs. These abnormalities are related to the severity of injury.

Key words: brain injury, cerebrospinal fluid(CSF), excitatory amino acids(EAAs)