title: Alpha-ketoglutaramate: increased concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients in hepatic coma.
abstract: alpha-Ketoglutaramate, a deaminated metabolite of glutamine not previously identified in biological tissues, was measured in the cerebrospinal fluid of human subjects and found to be increased three- to tenfold in patients with hepatic coma. When perfused into the cerebral lateral ventricles of rats, alpha-ketoglutaramate (10 mM) depressed the animals' nocturnal locomotor activity, and at higher doses induced circling behavior and myoclonus. The concentration of alpha-ketoglutaramate in cerebrospinal fluid appears to be a reliable diagnostic indicator of hepatic coma, and its accumulation may contribute to the pathogenesis of this disease.
mesh_terms: D000577:Amides / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D000641:Ammonia / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D000818:Animals; D003864:Depression, Chemical; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005971:Glutamates / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D005973:Glutamine / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D006501:Hepatic Encephalopathy / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D006801:Humans; D007656:Ketoglutaric Acids / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D009207:Myoclonus / Q000139:chemically induced; D051381:Rats; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid
chemical_list: D000577:Amides; D005971:Glutamates; D007656:Ketoglutaric Acids; D005973:Glutamine; D000641:Ammonia