[Blood level of gamma-aminobutyric acid--"peripheral index" of the state of central neuromediator system].

The review summarized data on contents of the main inhibitory neurotransmitter of the central nervous system: gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in blood of normal animal and humans, in blood of different animal species under experimental effects and modelling of pathological states, as well as in human blood in the presence nervous and endocrine diseases. Determination of GABA concentration in blood, taking into account the accessibility of study object, absence of significant sex, age, seasonal, diurnal fluctuations, as well as stability of amino acid level during the laboratory assay procedure, may be useful for the study of central neuromediator mechanisms, and allows, using representative samples and corresponding groups of comparison, to obtain data on disturbances of functional state of the GABAergic system under conditions of brain pathology.