Hyperammonaemia
From The Cure For The Needy
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Hyperammonaemia
Background
From eMedicine Pediatrics
Hyperammonemia is not a true disease; it is a sign that specific abnormalities that cause blood ammonia levels to become elevated may be present. Elevated blood ammonia levels cause a constellation of signs and symptoms that may appear to be a single disease.1
Normal blood ammonia levels range from 10-40 µmol/L, compared with a BUN level of 6-20 mg/dL. The total soluble ammonia level in a healthy adult with 5 L of circulating blood is only 150 mcg, in contrast to approximately 1000 mg of urea nitrogen present. Because urea is the end product of ammonia metabolism, the disparity in blood quantities of the substrate and product illustrates the following 2 principles:
* The CNS is protected from the toxic effects of free ammonia. * The metabolic conversion system that leads to production of urea is highly efficient.
An individual is unlikely to become hyperammonemic unless the conversion system is impaired in some way. In newborns, this impairment is often the result of genetic defects, whereas, in older individuals, the impairment is more often the consequence of a diseased liver. However, a growing number of reports address adult-onset genetic disorders of the urea cycle in previously healthy individuals.