Changes in the GABA system in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis-induced paralysis.

— The content of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), but not glutamate, and the uptake of [3H]GABA by synaptosomes was reduced in the lumbar cord of guinea pigs during experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE)-induced hind limb paralysis. The decrease in glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) activity in the dorsal and ventral parts of the cord was confined to the lumbar region, and appeared before the onset of motor dysfunction. No change in activity was found in the thoracic cord, motor cortex, cerebellum or striatum. GAD activity remained unchanged in animals which were EAE-sensitized but did not develop the clinical symptoms. Choline acetyltransferase activity did not change in the cord during paralysis.