Amino Acids, Spot Urine

Amino Acids, Spot Urine Overview 
 

Amino acids are essential as both protein building blocks and metabolic intermediates. They act as catalysts for the majority, if not all, of biological processes. Chemical sensitivities, cardiovascular illness, macular degeneration, bone diseases, and insomnia have all been linked to amino acid imbalances, according to scientific research. As a result of the numerous physiological processes in which amino acids are involved, they are linked to a variety of health issues. To name a few, neurotransmitters, hormones, nitric oxide, urea, antioxidants, connective tissue, and ATP are all produced. It is crucial to consume vital amino acids because your body cannot generate them on its own.
 

Amino acids such as glutamate, histidine, tyrosine, tryptophan, arginine, ornithine, and glutamine are essential for neurotransmitter and hormone production. Nitric oxide requires arginine, and glutathione requires glutamine, cysteine, glycine, and methionine. Glutathione conjugation, amino acid conjugation (taurine, glycine), methylation, sulphation, acetylation, and glucuronidation are the most common phase II liver detoxification reactions. Connective tissue, muscle metabolism, and tissue repair require proline, isoleucine, leucine, and valine, whereas glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and alanine create derivatives that are intermediates in the citric acid (cellular energy) cycle.
 

Traditionally, plasma is utilized to examine the status of necessary Amino Acids (AA), however, urine analysis provides more information about AA wasting and abnormal metabolism associated with co-factor deficiency.  
 

Amino acid urine testing looks for elevated levels of amino acid excretion in the urine, which may indicate inborn metabolic mistakes caused by a specific enzyme deficiency. 
 

The common Symptoms are: 
 

• Allergies 
• Anxiety 
• Cardiovascular illness 
• Depression 
• Diabetes\Fatigue 
• Hypertension 
• Inflammatory disorders 
• Insomnia 
• Infections 
• Mental disturbances 
   

What is diagnosed by Amino Acids, Spot Urine test? 
 

If renal function is normal, the spot urine amino acid study has the best chance of discovering problems. The spot urine amino acid test shows what is high and low throughout the day, represents blood and tissue amino acid pools, and is unaffected by circadian rhythm. Essential amino acids are efficiently conserved by healthy kidneys. As a result, urine amino acid levels tend to decline first and provide an early indicator of deficiency than plasma levels. 
 

The amino acid urine test is used to diagnose metabolic, neurological, and nutritional problems. This test analyses up to 40 amino acids, assisting the physician in determining the likely causes and side effects of the identified abnormalities. When a patient has ADHD, autism, bipolar disorder, tiredness, depression, eating disorders, seizures, schizophrenia, or Down’s syndrome, the test is indicated. 
 

Amino Acid Urine Test Preparation 
 

This test does not necessitate any extra preparation. However, because this is a urine test, the patient should consume 6-8 glasses of water or other fluids before the test. Furthermore, the test results may be hampered if you take any medications. Hence, it is important to tell your doctor beforehand about the complete list of medicines that are prescribed and consumed by you as it will ultimately help him to interpret and diagnose your test results and ailment more accurately thereby avoiding a wrong diagnosis. 

Amino acid urine test procedure 
 

• Because this test requires a urine sample, the procedure is extremely painless (compared to the blood and plasma test).  
•  The standard test approach would be to urinate in a sterile container at regular intervals for 24 hours.  
• Your doctor will advise you on how much time should elapse between two urine samples.  
• This helps the doctor gain adequate information about what amino acids are obtained from your diet over 24 hours. Unfortunately, doing a urine test on children is quite challenging.  
• In such a case, the patient is instructed to perform an 8-hour urine collection procedure during the night.  
• Labelling the containers is also critical because they will be submitted to the lab for further testing. 
   

Urine Amino Acid Reference Intervals 
 

The excretion of amino acids in urine is a significant route for the loss of essential nutrients. Some amino acids, like glycine and histidine, are eliminated in greater quantities than others. 
 

Amino acid urine test results usually take 6 working days.  
 

The following are medical signs and symptoms in older newborns and children: 
 

• Breathing difficulties 
• High blood ammonia levels can produce severe headaches, especially after a high-protein meal. 
• A lack of appetite and a dislike for meat/high-protein foods 
• Spitting up