Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
2011-7-28
pubmed:abstractText
Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) are used in attempts to reduce blood ammonia in patients with cirrhosis and intermittent hepatic encephalopathy based on the hypothesis that BCAA stimulate muscle ammonia detoxification. We studied the effects of an oral dose of BCAA on the skeletal muscle metabolism of ammonia and amino acids in 14 patients with cirrhosis and in 7 healthy subjects by combining [(13)N]ammonia positron emission tomography (PET) of the thigh muscle with measurements of blood flow and arteriovenous (A-V) concentrations of ammonia and amino acids. PET was used to measure the metabolism of blood-supplied ammonia and the A-V measurements were used to measure the total ammonia metabolism across the thigh muscle. After intake of BCAA, blood ammonia increased more than 30% in both groups of subjects (both P < 0.05). Muscle clearance of blood-supplied ammonia (PET) was unaffected (P = 0.75), but the metabolic removal rate (PET) increased significantly because of increased blood ammonia in both groups (all P < 0.05). The total ammonia clearance across the leg muscle (A-V) increased by more than 50% in both groups, and the flux (A-V) of ammonia increased by more than 45% (all P < 0.05). BCAA intake led to a massive glutamine release from the muscle (cirrhotic patients, P < 0.05; healthy subjects, P = 0.12). In conclusion, BCAA enhanced the intrinsic muscle metabolism of ammonia but not the metabolism of blood-supplied ammonia in both the patients with cirrhosis and in the healthy subjects.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Aug
pubmed:issn
1522-1547
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:volume
301
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
G269-77
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Amino Acids, Branched-Chain, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Ammonia, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Female, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Femoral Artery, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Femoral Vein, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Glutamine, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Humans, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Isoleucine, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Leucine, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Male, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Metabolic Clearance Rate, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Middle Aged, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Muscle, Skeletal, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Positron-Emission Tomography, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Radial Artery, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Regional Blood Flow, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Thigh, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Tomography, X-Ray Computed, pubmed-meshheading:21636533-Valine
pubmed:year
2011
pubmed:articleTitle
Branched-chain amino acids increase arterial blood ammonia in spite of enhanced intrinsic muscle ammonia metabolism in patients with cirrhosis and healthy subjects.
pubmed:affiliation
PET Centre, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. dam@pet.auh.dk
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't