Dementia of different etiologies: vasoactive intestinal polypeptide in CSF.

Patients with normal-pressure hydrocephalus, multi-infarct dementia, and recent cerebral infarction had significantly lower vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) levels than age-matched controls (11 +/- 3 pmol/l, 17 +/- 4 pmol/l, 21 +/- 4 pmol/l, and 33 +/- 4 pmol/l, respectively). Three months after a shunt operation, the VIP levels had increased significantly in patients with hydrocephalus (54 +/- 13 pmol/l). VIP concentration in patients with senile dementia did not differ from that of controls.