The regulation of cytoplasmic calcium is a key process in nerve tissue. Using a smooth muscle model we have shown that prostaglandine (PG) E2 probably regulates entry from extracellular fluid, whereas the release from intracellular stores depends on the interplay between thromboxane (TX) A2, PGEl and prostacyclin. Hormones and other agents interact with this system in the following ways: vasopressin, angiotensin and inositol mobilize arachidonic acid from membrane phospholipids and increase synthesis of PGE2 and TXA2, Cortisol blocks this action. Prolactin and zinc mobilize dihomo-γ-linolenic acid and increase synthesis of PGEL These effects can be blocked by Cortisol, lithium and taurine, three agents which on their own have no effect on basal PG production. Epileptogenic agents like penicillin and picrotoxin also stimulate PG synthesis, while diphenylhydantoin is a PG antagonist and diazepam is a TXA2 antagonist. The effects of all these agents occur at concentrations which are physiological in the case of the natural ones, and readily attained in human plasma in the case of the drugs. In view of recent evidence that calcium may be important in demyelination and considering the established role it plays in nerve conduction and synaptic transmission, we suggest that these observations may be of significance in understanding Friedreich's ataxia.

The hypothesis that an abnormal oxygen-hemoglobin dissociation curve is a primary or a secondary defect in patients with Friedreich's ataxia was investigated in 12 subjects with this disease. Hemoglobin and P50 were measured and compared with age and sex matched controls. The mean hemoglobin concentration was 14.2 g% and the P50 was 26.25 ton for the patients and 13.8 g% and 26.27 ton in the controls. These results indicate that the oxygen transport system is normal in this disease and likely exclude an abnormal oxygen dissociation curve as a primary or a secondary factor in the pathophysiology of the cardiomyopathy and the neuromyopathy found in this disease.

The combined metabolic stresses of fasting and the intravenous injection of 50 mg nicotinic acid in Friedreich's ataxia resulted in the delineation of two sub-groups of responses. High bilirubin ataxics maintained abnormally elevated levels of bilirubin, while normal bilirubin ataxics behaved like the normal control group. It is postulated that this finding infers the possible linkage of the gene for Friedreich's ataxia and that for Gilbert's disease.

The Pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex (PDHC) purified from rat brain is phosphorylated in the presence of low concentrations of ATP and MgCl2. The phosphorylated PDHC is incapable of catalyzing the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate. In the presence of high concentrations (10 mM) of MgCl2, the phosphorylated (inactive) PDHC is converted back to the dephospho-form of PDHC which is catalytically active.

The dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase (LAD) component, E3, of PDHC is inactivated by pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) and the PLP-inactivated LAD can be reactivated by an amino acid, taurine. These results indicate the reversible formation of Schiff base between PLP and LAD. They also provide clear evidence for the involvement of LAD (E3) in the previously reported inactivation of PDHC by PLP.

Pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), α -keto gluturate dehydrogenase (α -KGDH) and lipoamide dehydrogenase (LAD) were measured in platelets of II patients with typical Friedreich's ataxia and 10 normal control subjects. Serum LAD was also evaluated in the same patients. No statistically significant changes were found in platelets for the group as a whole, although some patients had low values (more than one standard deviation below control mean). Serum LAD was significantly reduced in the patients with Friedreich's ataxia. This was not due to associated diabetes.

Lipoamide dehydrogenase was measued in cultivated skin fibroblasts from twelve patients with Friedreich's ataxia and nine normal controls. No difference in specific activity, subcellular distribution and Vmax or Km was observed between patients and controls.

The uptake of 14C-laurine was studied in the platelets of 20 ataxic patients and 20 age-matched normal control subjects. No significant differences were found in uptake or kinetics of taurine between the two groups of subjects. If a transport defect in taurine exists in Friedreich's ataxia, it is not present in all tissues. Preliminary indication was obtained in favor of heterogenity of the uptake pattern between ataxic individuals.

In a previous study we reported low values of taurine and aspartic acid in the CSF of patients with Friedreich's ataxia, when the results were compared to the literature. Further studies have revealed that tinforetold difficulties with the advertised methodology of sequential multi-sample amino acid analysis were responsible for low values in the determination of these two amino acids in the small volumes necessary for CSF. A corrected method is presented. With the latter method the differences disappear for CSF taurine and aspartic acid, but they remain valid for the previously reported blood and urine values in Friedreich's ataxia. GABA levels are also normal in Friedreich's ataxia CSF.