Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
1999-7-29
pubmed:abstractText
Thirty-three children ranging from 2 weeks to 12 years of age were selected for allopurinol loading, 16 on the basis of an increased urinary ourotate excretion detected by routine organic acid analysis (group A), and 17 for clinical reasons suggesting a urea cycle defect (group B). The allopurinol load test proved positive in 13 of 16 patients from group A, mean peak orotate 64.0 mumol/mmol creatinine (upper limit of reference range, 13.2) and 11 of 17 patients from group B, mean peak orotate 41.0 mumol/mmol creatinine (upper limit of reference range, 13.2). Thorough investigation of these patients including urinary and plasma amino acid analysis and, in 17 cases, liver biopsy for histology and measurement of ornithine carbamyltransferase (OCT) and carbamyl-phosphate synthetase (CPS) activity failed to identify any evidence of a urea cycle disorder. However, muscle biopsies performed in 11 patients showed some evidence of mitochondrial disease in four cases, two defined on the basis of reduced respiratory chain enzyme activity and two on the basis of mtDNA abnormalities. These findings indicate that an increased excretion of orotate in sick children may not be uncommon and that a positive allopurinol load test result may not indicate a specific inherited urea cycle defect. In addition, these results raise the interesting possibility that defective ureagenesis may be a feature of mitochondrial disease in some individuals.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Apr
pubmed:issn
0141-8955
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
22
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
174-84
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-3-21
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1999
pubmed:articleTitle
The allopurinol load test lacks specificity for primary urea cycle defects but may indicate unrecognized mitochondrial disease.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Chemical Pathology and Neonatal Screening, Children's Hospital NHS Trust, Sheffield, UK.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article