Treatment
The treatment of urea cycle disorders consists of balancing dietary protein intake in order that the body receive the essential amino acids responsible for cell growth and development, but not so much protein that excessive ammonia is formed. This protein restriction is used in conjunction with medications which provide alternative pathways for the removal of ammonia from the blood. These medications are usually given by way of tube feedings, either via gastrostomy tube (a tube surgically implanted in the stomach) or nasogastric tube through the nose into the stomach. The treatment may also include supplementation with special amino acid formulas developed specifically for urea cycle disorders, multiple vitamins and calcium supplements. Frequent blood tests are required to monitor the disorders and optimize treatment, and frequently hospitalizations are necessary to control the disorder.
At the most extreme end of the spectrum, a few liver transplants have been done successfully as a cure to the disorder. This treatment alternative must be carefully evaluated with medical professionals to determine if potential of success as compared to the potential for new medical concerns.
Read more about this topic: Urea Cycle Disorder
Famous quotes containing the word treatment:
“Narcissist: psychoanalytic term for the person who loves himself more than his analyst; considered to be the manifestation of a dire mental disease whose successful treatment depends on the patient learning to love the analyst more and himself less.”
—Thomas Szasz (b. 1920)
“I feel that any form of so called psychotherapy is strongly contraindicated for addicts.... The question “Why did you start using narcotics in the first place?” should never be asked. It is quite as irrelevant to treatment as it would be to ask a malarial patient why he went to a malarial area.”
—William Burroughs (b. 1914)
“Our treatment of both older people and children reflects the value we place on independence and autonomy. We do our best to make our children independent from birth. We leave them all alone in rooms with the lights out and tell them, “Go to sleep by yourselves.” And the old people we respect most are the ones who will fight for their independence, who would sooner starve to death than ask for help.”
—Margaret Mead (1901–1978)