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Glutamine and Ammonia in Hepatic Encephalopathy

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Glutamine in Clinical Nutrition

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

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Abstract

The amino acid glutamine is present in all tissues and it serves several purposes depending on the tissue in question. This chapter is devoted to a discussion of its role in relation to the elevated ammonia levels found in the brain in the context of hepatic encephalopathy (HE), a disturbance of the central nervous system due to liver failure [1] characterized by cognitive, psychiatric, and motor deficits. Early symptoms include reversal of sleep pattern, apathy, hypersomnia, irritability, and personal neglect and HE can progressively lead to coma and death [2]. Brain ammonia homeostasis is functionally associated with metabolism in the liver since this organ is responsible for removal of excess ammonia from the bloodstream. Thus, this chapter is intended to focus on glutamine metabolism in these two organs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2 Universitetsparken, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark

    Sherry Dadsetan, Helle S. Waagepetersen, Arne Schousboe & Lasse K. Bak

Authors
  1. Sherry Dadsetan
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  2. Helle S. Waagepetersen
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  3. Arne Schousboe
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  4. Lasse K. Bak
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lasse K. Bak .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Intensive Care, Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals, London, United Kingdom

    Rajkumar Rajendram

  2. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences, School of Medicine, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom

    Victor R. Preedy

  3. Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom

    Vinood B. Patel

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Dadsetan, S., Waagepetersen, H.S., Schousboe, A., Bak, L.K. (2015). Glutamine and Ammonia in Hepatic Encephalopathy. In: Rajendram, R., Preedy, V., Patel, V. (eds) Glutamine in Clinical Nutrition. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1932-1_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1932-1_17

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-1931-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-1932-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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