[Taurine in the cerebrospinal fluid in febrile convulsions in children].

Taurine may function in brain as a neuroinhibitor, and intracerebroventricular taurine has the capacity to induce hypothermia. Its antiepileptic properties have been observed in animals and humans. On the basis of these data, we studied taurine concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid of 32 children with simple febrile convulsions (16 +/- 6 months) and of 25 children with acute hyperthermia without neurologic signs (13 +/- 8 months). Taurine concentration in cerebrospinal fluid was similar in febrile convulsion children (8 +/- 4 mumol/l) compared to a control group (7.8 +/- 3 mumol/l).