Disseminated Ureaplasma infection as a cause of fatal hyperammonemia in humans.

ABSTRACT: Hyperammonemia syndrome is a fatal complication affecting immunosuppressed patients. Frequently refractory to treatment, it is characterized by progressive elevations in serum ammonia of unknown etiology, ultimately leading to cerebral edema and death. In mammals, ammonia produced during amino acid metabolism is primarily cleared through the hepatic production of urea, which is eliminated in the kidney. Ureaplasma species, commensals of the urogenital tract, are Mollicutes dependent on urea hydrolysis to ammonia and carbon dioxide for energy production. We hypothesized that systemic infection with Ureaplasma species might pose a unique challenge to human ammonia metabolism by liberating free ammonia resulting in the hyperammonemia syndrome. We used polymerase chain reaction, specialized cu

SUBMITTER: Bharat A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4677674 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature