Seizures due to Ammonia

[RobinN]

I have run into articles, mostly in vet sites regarding seizures and ammonia in the blood. Over burdened Liver funtion, abundance of proteins, and non protein nitrogen added to the food all brought on high levels of ammonia. This can cause seizures.

When the liver cannot properly metabolize and and turn poisons into harmless substances in the body, these poisons build up in the bloodstream. One substance believed to be particularly harmful to the central nervous system is ammonia, which is produced by the body when proteins are digested. Ammonia is normally made harmless by the liver. Many other substances may also accumulate in the body if the liver is not working well. They add to the damage done to the nervous system.

In people with otherwise stable liver disorders, hepatic encephalopathy may be triggered by gastrointestinal bleeding, eating too much protein, infections, renal disease, procedures that bypass blood past the liver, and electrolyte abnormalities (especially a decrease in potassium). A potassium decrease may result from vomiting, or treatments such as paracentesis or taking diuretics ("water pills").

Hepatic encephalopathy may also be triggered by any condition that results in alkalosis, low oxygen levels in the body, use of medications that suppress the central nervous system (such as barbiturates or benzodiazepine tranquilizers), surgery, and sometimes by co-occurring illness.

Disorders that mimic or mask symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy include alcohol intoxication, sedative overdose, complicated alcohol withdrawal, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, subdural hematoma, meningitis, and metabolic abnormalities such as low blood glucose.

Hepatic encephalopathy may occur as an acute, potentially reversible disorder or as a chronic, progressive disorder associated with chronic liver disease.

http://health.nytimes.com/health/gui.../overview.html

Elevated ammonia poisoning as a side-effect of divalproex sodium (Depakote) can lead poisoning to symptoms such as altered mental retardation
Mental status tests status, confusion
Delirium, and delirium
Delirium tremens. Some people do present with such symptoms even at low plasma amino acids levels.

Ideally, when elevated levels of ammonia poisoning is found in the setting of Depakote therapy, close monitoring of plasma amino acids levels should be done every week. If the elevation should persist, discontinuation of this drug Chemical dependence -

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/395337

We evaluated seven adult patients with localization-related epilepsy who presented with different acute or subacute neurological symptoms related to valproate-induced hyperammonemic encephalopathy. Four of the seven patients had acute onset of confusion, decline in cognitive abilities, and ataxia. Two had subacute clinical symptoms, and the other patient had symptoms similar to those of acute toxicity. These unusual clinical symptoms and similar cases had not been reported in the literature before. Serum ammonia levels were elevated in all seven patients

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...e1ef31a7688fb1

This is a good article about Natural Approaches, but I can't seem to cut and paste.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-163199249.html

I will continue this as I find more information on it.

[speber]

Nice find!

[Bernard]

Milk Thistle (an herb) is said to be good for the liver (which may help if it is burdened by processing anti-epileptic drugs).

[angel]

very interesting robin.... I read today about ammonia in the blood and kidneys too because i sometimes have an ammonia smell on my hands skin... not all the time just sometimes....
can milk thistle help kidneys process anti-epileptic drugs ? ill have to read up more about this...as i have one bad kidney and keppra is removed from kidneys....

When to seek medical advice

See your doctor if you suddenly begin to sweat more than usual or experience night sweats for no apparent reason. A cold sweat is usually your body's response to a serious illness, anxiety or severe pain. Seek immediate medical attention for a cold sweat, especially if you have symptoms of lightheadedness or chest and stomach pains.

Also talk to your doctor if you notice a change in body odor — it may be a sign of certain medical conditions. A fruity smell, for example, may be a sign of diabetes and an ammonia smell could indicate liver or kidney disease.

http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/DS/00305.html

[alivenwell]

That makes perfect sense to me. I own fish and ammonia builds up in their water. I frequently have to either add chemicals to the water to balance its ph or set a bucket of water out for 7 days and allow the chlorine to evaporate. After the 7th day, I change 1/3 of the tank's water. Ammonia does not evaporate.
You might also want to research your water company's technique on how they sterilize your water. Our water company was about to add ammonia in addition to their usual chlorine and fluoride to sterilize it. This caused a really big reaction from our community especially from people who need to use water for dialysis or oxygen masks. You might want to switch to distilled water to see if that is your issue. I'd also check the web site and write to your water company just to be safe.

[montse]

While I was with valproic acid, before each seizure, my hsuband said I smelt of ammonia, only that moment but doctors never gave it importance

[alivenwell]

Since a base can neutralize an acid and vice versa, and ammonia is a base, maybe something acidic in your diet (like orange juice) would neutralize the ammonia?

[Bernard]

While I was with valproic acid, before each seizure, my hsuband said I smelt of ammonia, only that moment but doctors never gave it importance

Stacy also used to have a unique "aroma" around the time of a seizure. I could never quite pin down what the smell was until one day when she split her scalp. Her "aroma" was the same as the smell of her blood.

I used to be able to tell within a day that she was in danger of having a tonic clonic seizure when I noticed that "aroma" being strong.

It's been a few months though, since that was true.

[RobinN]

Urea Cycle Disorders (UCD) are a group of inherited conditions, characterised by enzyme deficiencies of the urea cycle. The result is waste nitrogen accumulating as ammonia and glutamine, both of which are neurotoxic and may cause severe encephalopathy. The aim of dietary management is to restrict dietary protein by means of a low protein diet. The protein requirements are met by supplementing the diet with an essential amino acid mixture if necessary, and / or specific individual amino acids such as arginine and citrulline depending upon the type of Urea Cycle Defect. A high calorie diet is also an important aspect of dietary management
.
Sodium benzoate and phenylbutyrate are used in conjunction with diet therapy to facilitate the removal of nitrogen.

Emergency regimes are required in periods of decompensation and catabolism.

http://www.shs-nutrition.com/conditi...ycle_disorders

Urea cycle disorders are inherited inborn errors of metabolism in which the body lacks or is deficient in the enzymes necessary to break down protein into urea and excrete it in the urine. Since our bodies lack the capacity to store protein (unlike fats and carbohydrates), the ongoing excretion of excess protein is critical for survival. Protein is broken down in the liver and tissues through the urea cycle into urea and carbon dioxide. These end products are excreted via the kidneys in our urine. When one of the necessary enzymes is missing in the urea cycle or deficient in some way, protein cannot be broken down and instead is degraded to ammonia (NH3+). High levels of ammonia in the blood (hyperammonemia) are very toxic to brain cells and may lead to cell damage or cell death.

http://www.ureacycle.com/about_ucd.asp

http://rarediseasesnetwork.epi.usf.e...ians/index.htm

Recently, the number of adults being diagnosed with urea cycle disorders has increased at an alarming rate. These individuals have survived undiagnosed to adulthood, probably due to less severe enzyme deficiencies. These individuals exhibit stroke-like symptoms, episodes of lethargy, and delirium. These adults are likely to be referred to neurologists or psychiatrists because of their psychiatric symptoms. However, without proper diagnosis and treatment, these individuals are at risk for permanent brain damage, coma, and death. Adult-onset symptoms have been observed following viral illnesses, childbirth, dieting, use of valproic acid (an anti-epileptic drug which causes excess ammonia), and chemotherapy.

http://www.nucdf.org/ucd_symptoms.htm

[hawke86]

Very interesting. I didn't know any of that. Thanks for the information.

[alivenwell]

Wow. What should we eat?! One philosophy is to restrict sugar intake, low carbs. Other diets say low protein.

Sounds like cardboard is left. It has fiber.

[RobinN]

Urea cycle disorders are inherited inborn errors of metabolism in which the body lacks or is deficient in the enzymes necessary to break down protein into urea and excrete it in the urine.

I do believe it is only a fraction of the population that has this inborn error. But if you happen to be a part of that population, it would be good to know.

[RobinN]

A very wide range of the toxic substances produced in a toxic bowel is sent on to the liver, which is the body’s primary detoxification site. During the digestion of proteins, a number of harmful bacteria, including Clostridia, Eubacteria, and Peptostreptococci, produce toxic ammonia in the gastrointestinal tract. It is the result of a perfectly normal process. A healthy liver detoxifies the ammonia by turning it into urea, which is passed out of the body in the urine. However, if the liver is not working properly, the ammonia remains unprocessed and enters the bloodstream and invades the central nervous system, causing many dangerous symptoms. The brain is affected.



Symptoms of Excess Ammonia in the Brain Include:

Lethargy
Seizures
Ataxia (a failure of muscle control in arms and legs, resulting in a lack of balance and coordination or a disturbance of gait)
Unclear Thinking
Extreme Sleepiness
“Spinning” ie. Repeating Thoughts
OCD type behavior
Forgetfulness
Trouble Concentrating
Confusion
Agitation

[Wally]

Hey Robin

This is very timely for me. My neurologist prescribed Keppra for my T/C's because of my Liver. Any ideas how to clean up a Liver?

[RobinN]

I have been looking at some alternatives. One good supplement is milk thistle, but I also am on a yahoo site bioraynaturaldetox@yahoogroups.com hosted by a company called BioRay. They make a product called Liver Life and it has:
***LiverLife contains; himmematsutake (agaricus blazei), red root (Jersey Tea), milk thistle (silymarin), olive leaf extract , coriolus versicolor, gandoderma lucidum (reishi), and grifola (maitake).
I have been reading and asking questions and it is something I am considering.

[RobinN]

Male rats were trained to consume their daily food intake in 3 h. When rats were fed 6% casein for 14 d and were then fed either the 6 or 75% casein diet for 1 d, the plasma and brain ammonia concentrations of rats fed 75% casein were higher (P < 0.05) at 23 h after test meal initiation compared to those of rats fed 6% casein. When rats were fed 6% casein for 13 d and then fed the same 6% casein diet with or without an additional 15% ammonium acetate for an additional 7 d before feeding 75% casein for 1 d, the plasma ammonia concentration of each group was not different, but plasma and brain amino acid concentrations were lower in rats prefed 15% ammonium acetate before the 75% casein diet. When rats were fed 6.8% egg white for 9 d and then fed 27.9% egg white for an additional 7 d, food intake of rats fed the 27.9% egg white diet was lower (P < 0.05, paired t-test) for 4 d compared with that during the 3-d pretest period. When rats were meal-fed the 6.8% egg white diet for 13 d and then fed either the same 6.8% egg white diet or the 27.9% egg white diet for 1 d, plasma ammonia and plasma and brain amino acid concentrations were higher at 5 h after test meal initiation (P < 0.05) in rats fed 27.9% egg white compared to those of rats fed 6.8% egg white. At 23 h after test meal initiation, plasma ammonia, plasma amino acid and most brain amino acid concentrations were lower than they were at 5 h after test meal initiation in rats fed 27.9% egg white.

http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/...ct/119/11/1583

[alivenwell]

This may be a stupid question, but is it possible for our bodies to absorb ammonia through our skin. I usually use rubber gloves when cleaning, but it may be entering my system in a different way.

[hawke86]

That's a good question. Have you tried looking it up on the internet?

[alivenwell]

Not yet. I would imagine it is determined by how much exposure we have externally to the ammonia. I'm using more green products.

Our water company was going to add ammonia to their product. Various people using dialysis machines or other medical devices with water protested enough to shoot down the decision. I personally know somebody with a breathing mask who now uses distilled water per physicians instructions.

[RobinN]

This discussion is not about the ammonia that you buy in a bottle. It is ammonia that is created in the body.

A healthy liver detoxifies the ammonia by turning it into urea, which is passed out of the body in the urine. However, if the liver is not working properly, the ammonia remains unprocessed and enters the bloodstream and invades the central nervous system, causing many dangerous symptoms. The brain is affected.

Recently, the number of adults being diagnosed with urea cycle disorders has increased at an alarming rate.