Ammonia levels are often elevated in patients with cirrhosis or tumors. Patients with these diseases are immunocompromised. In this study, we investigated the effects of ammonia on a member of the immune cell family, the dendritic cells (DCs). Our results demonstrated that ammonia diminished cell count, phagocytosis, and lymphocyte stimulation of DCs. Ammonia also induced DC swelling, excessive...

OBJECTIVE Skeletal muscle is said to compensate for the decreased ammonia metabolism in patients with cirrhosis. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) are being used as a treatment for hyperammonemia, and are believed to decrease blood ammonia by consumption of BCAA in skeletal muscles. We examined ammonia metabolism of the skeletal muscles in patients with liver cirrhosis after administration of B...

Blood carnitine and/or acetylcarnitine deficiencies are postulated in the literature as possible causes of higher ammonia levels. The aim of this study was to investigate if the use of valproic acid, the age of the patients, or certain central nervous system pathologies can cause carnitine and/or acetylcarnitine deficiency leading to increased ammonia levels. Three groups of patients were studi...

IN No. 1, Vol. III., of the JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY Dr. Gaskell records some experiments regarding the respective action of antiarin, hydrate of soda, muscarin, and digitalin on the ventricle of the frog's heart. In this paper I record some experiments on the action of soda, ammonia, and potash on the same structure. In most respects my experiments with soda hydrate agree with those of Dr. Gaskel...

Excessive protein intake can cause hepatic encephalopathy (HE). Restricting protein in HE is becoming a controversy, because it can worsen malnutrition. This article reports the case of an under nourishment HE which is treated with L-ornithine-L-aspartate (LOLA) and given appropriate diet according to the nutrition status. A 62-year-old man came with chief complaint of having reduced consciousn...

Valero, A., Airoy, G., Eisenkraft, B., and Itskovitch, J. (1974). Thorax, 29, 703-709. Ammonia metabolism in chronic obstnuctive pulmonary disease with special reference to congestive right ventricular failure. A study of 36 patients was undertaken to evaluate the role of raised blood and CSF ammonia in the production of central nervous manifestations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (C...

1. Sheep were injected with varying doses of urea into the rumen and changes in the amount of saliva secreted from one parotid gland were studied. When the dose of urea was 0.1-0.2 g/kg, the secretion underwent no change. When the dose was 0.3 g/kg, the secretion was inhibited. When the dose was 0.4 or 0.5 g/kg, there was a marked inhibition in the secretion. 2. There was a close relationship b...

In contrast to terrestrial animals most aquatic species can be characterized by relatively higher blood [Formula: see text] concentrations despite its potential toxicity to the central nervous system. Although many aquatic species excrete [Formula: see text] via specialized epithelia little information is available regarding the mechanistic basis for NH3/[Formula: see text] homeostasis in mollu...

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a brain disorder caused by chronic liver failure, particularly in alcoholics with cirrhosis, which results in cognitive, psychiatric, and motor impairments. In these patients, the number of functional liver cells is reduced, and some blood is diverted around the liver before toxins are removed. As a result, toxins such as ammonia and manganese can accumulate in th...

quality and flesh colour characteristics of blood oranges following harvest is related to and dependent upon temperature and storage conditions. to investigate the effects of different temperatures (8, 15 and 22ºc) and different storage period (0, 25, 50 and 75 days) on total soluble solids, titrable acidity, ph, ascorbic acid, total phenolic contents, antioxidant capacity, anthocyanin level, a...