Abstract
An 18 month-old, intact female American Shorthair cat was presented for evaluation of stunted growth and postprandial depression. Fasting serum ammonia and serum bile acid concentrations were above reference ranges at 396 microg/dl and 6.5 micromol/ l and their postprandial concentrations were 785 microg/dl and 9.5 micromol/l, respectively. The initial tentative diagnosis of a portosystemic shunt was excluded by mesenteric portography and histopathology of the liver. The cat was then suspected of a urea cycle enzyme deficiency and its urine was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A presumptive diagnosis of ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency was made on the basis of the detection of orotic acid and uracil.
MeSH terms
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Alanine Transaminase / blood
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Animals
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Aspartate Aminotransferases / blood
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Bile Acids and Salts / blood
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Cat Diseases / diagnosis
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Cat Diseases / enzymology*
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Cats
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Female
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Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / veterinary
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Hyperammonemia / veterinary
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Ornithine Carbamoyltransferase / biosynthesis
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Ornithine Carbamoyltransferase / metabolism
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Ornithine Carbamoyltransferase Deficiency Disease / diagnosis
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Ornithine Carbamoyltransferase Deficiency Disease / veterinary*
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Orotic Acid / urine
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Portasystemic Shunt, Surgical
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Portography / veterinary
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Postprandial Period
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Uracil / urine
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Urine / chemistry
Substances
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Bile Acids and Salts
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Uracil
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Orotic Acid
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Ornithine Carbamoyltransferase
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Aspartate Aminotransferases
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Alanine Transaminase