title: Trimethylaminuria (fish-odour syndrome) and oral malodour.
abstract: A small but important percentage of oral malodour cases have an extra-oral aetiology and certain of these fall into the category of 'blood-borne halitosis'. Odoriferous substances generated within the body and transported to the lungs via the circulatory system may, if sufficiently volatile, leave with the exhaled air and impart a foetid odour to the breath. The aliphatic tertiary amine, trimethylamine, is such a volatile compound that is generated to excess in patients with a metabolic disorder known as trimethylaminuria (fish-odour syndrome). This article highlights this condition and draws attention to its potential role in the causation of recalcitrant oral malodour.
authors.affiliation: Biological Chemistry, Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London, UK. s.c.mitchell@imperial.ac.uk
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Mitchell
mesh_terms: D000592:Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors / Q000097:blood / Q000201:enzymology / Q000652:urine; D005396:Fish Products; D006209:Halitosis / Q000097:blood / Q000201:enzymology / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000201:enzymology / Q000652:urine; D008744:Methylamines / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine*; D009812:Odorants; D010105:Oxygenases / Q000378:metabolism; D013577:Syndrome
chemical_list: D008744:Methylamines; D010105:Oxygenases; C020066:dimethylaniline monooxygenase (N-oxide forming); C023336:trimethylamine