...

th, and regular functioning. This panel can aid in the detection of amino acid deficits and tests for 34 distinct amino acids. Amino acids perform a variety of roles, including protein synthesis, neurotransmitter synthesis, hormone precursors, and enzyme cofactors. More than 70 amino acid metabolism diseases have been reported. These illnesses have a wide range of clinical symptoms.

Amino Acids include:
 

Ethanolamine, Gamma-Amino Butyric Acid, Glutamic Acid, Glutamine, Glycine, Histidine, Homocysteine, Hydroxyproline, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Ornithine 1-Methylhistidine, 3-Methylhistidine, Alanine, Alpha-Amino Adipic Acid, Alpha-Amino Butyric Acid, Arginine, Asparagine, Aspartic Acid, Beta-Alanine, Beta-Amino Isobutyric Acid, Citrulline, Cystathionine, Phenylalanine, Proline, Sarcosine, Serine, Taurine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Tyrosine, Valine.
 

How Amino Acids are useful for our body?
 

Amino acids are essential for metabolism, immune system health, and maintaining a healthy neurological system because they are the building blocks of proteins. An analysis of your amino acid profile is a reliable way to determine how well-nourished you are overall. This test checks for 34 different amino acids and can help identify amino acid deficits. It is also used to diagnose and track hereditary metabolic abnormalities including organic acidurias, urea cycle deficiencies, and aminoacidurias (the presence of amino acids in the blood). Additionally, this Amino Acid, Serum Test may be performed as a confirmatory test as a follow-up to any abnormal new-born screen results.
 

Not only are amino acids essential for humans as nutrition, but they also play crucial roles in managing and regulating vital bodily processes. Free amino acids play a role in both neurotoxicity and the brain's neurotransmission and receptor signalling pathways. As a result, alterations in free amino acid levels may serve as a warning sign of neurodegeneration. Also, suggest that amino acid metabolic pathways may be changed in Alzheimer’s disease.
 

An imbalanced diet or changes in requirements brought on by genetic variations, sickness, or a metabolism that is compromised may be the cause of excessive or inadequate quantities of amino acids.
 

What Amino Acid, Serum Test diagnoses?
 

Nutritional testing analysis of amino acids (AA) helps in the detection of dietary protein sufficiency and amino acid balance, gastrointestinal disorders, protein intolerances of various kinds, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, renal and hepatic dysfunction, psychiatric abnormalities, susceptibility to inflammatory response and oxidative stress, reduced detoxification capacity, and numerous other innate and acquired disorders in AA metabolism.
 

Additionally, it measures your levels of 25 additional non-essential amino acids, such as taurine and arginine. The amino acid analysis gives valuable diagnostic information on hepatic and renal function, availability of neurotransmitter precursors, detoxifying capacity, vulnerability to occlusive artery disease (homocysteine), and numerous inherent problems in amino acid metabolism.
 

The Amino Acid serum test assists in determining the status of nutrients, imbalances, and the movement of catabolic pathways. Aside from that, amino acid testing evaluates important functional areas of support like meat consumption and urea processing, which can assist practitioners in focusing procedures to improve patient results.

Who should do Amino Acid, Serum Test?
 

Here, serum samples are used to assess patients for potential inborn metabolic abnormalities. It may help with the examination of neurological disorders, endocrine disorders, muscular diseases, liver diseases, neoplastic diseases, renal failure, and burns. It is a serious and frequently untreated "hidden" deficiency in amino acid metabolism that affect many people. These limitations might or might not manifest as particular symptoms. They may be connected to an illness but not the cause of it, or they may subtly enhance vulnerability to a degenerative condition.
 

It is advised that a comprehensive amino acid analysis be carried out anytime extensive nutritional tests and a metabolic workup are required because of the abundance of information supplied. The patient's results are shown practically, making interpretation simple. Based on the results for each patient, a thorough list of "presumptive needs" (like B6, B12/folate, Mg) and "implied problems" (like maldigestion/malabsorption, aberrant gut flora, poor detoxification, and oxidative stress) is offered. To make dietary intervention simpler, user-friendly comments and patient-specific amino acid supplement regimens are supplied.

How Amino Acid, Serum Test is done?
 

Collection of blood
 

The instructions are given before the test. The test is performed after fasting for six hours eating in some cases at least a 12-hour overnight fast is required. Both methods yield insightful data, but the blood test performed 2–6 hours after a meal offers a more accurate picture of how your blood is doing in real-world situations. Take your meds as directed and keep yourself hydrated:
 

• After the fast, blood is collected by 11am in the morning.
• Venous blood is taken and centrifuged within 4 hours using Vacutainer serum tubes.
• Before the generation of spots and delivery to the analytical lab, all serum samples were kept at 80°C.
• Spotting 20 L of each serum onto filter paper drying it, and sending the finished product to the lab at room temperature are the steps used to take serum from patients.
• This test panel covers 22 different Amino Acids.

 

How to read the results of the Amino Acid, Serum Test?
 

Concentration in the blood in micromoles/litre
Amino Acid
	Children	Adult
Alanine	200-450	230-510
Arginine	44-120	13-64
Asparagine	15-40	45-130
Aspartic acid	0-26	0-6
Cystine	19-47	30-65
Glutamic acid	32- 140	18-98
Glutamine	420-730	390-650
Glycine	110-240	170-330
Histidine	68-120	26-120
Isoleucine	37-140	42-100
Leucine	70-170	66-170
Lysine	120- 290	150-220
Methionine	13- 30	16- 30
Phenylalanine	26-86	41-68
Proline	130- 290	110-360
Serine	93-150	56-140
Threonine	67-150	92-240
Tyrosine	26-110	45-75
Valine	160-350	150-310

The above table shows the normal values for Amino Acids. The range may vary slightly from one lab to the other.
 

Abnormal results

An abnormal report is specified by either a rise or decrease in the total range of Amino Acids. The results may take the 7th working day.

Low levels:

Amino acids help to create muscles, produce chemical reactions in the body, transport nutrition, prevent disease, and perform a variety of other tasks. Amino acid lacking can cause a lowered immunity, digestive troubles, depression, fertility concerns, decreased mental alertness, slower growth in children, and a variety of other health problems.

High levels:

When your body consumes excessive levels of amino acids, the following outcomes may occur:

• Bloating is an example of gastrointestinal distress
• Pain in the abdomen
• Diarrhoea
• Gout risk increases (build-up of uric acid in the body, leading to joint inflammation)
• A dangerous decline in blood pressure
• Changes in eating habits
• Kidney failures
• Brain disorders

Read more