Serotonin- and catecholamine-related substances in the brain of ornithine transcarbamylase-deficient Sparse-fur mice in the hyperammonemic state: comparison of two procedures for obtaining brain extract, decapitation and microwave irradiation.

Increased flux through the 5-HT pathway during hyperammonemia was indicated by a significant positive correlation between Gln concentration and the ratio of 5-HIAA to 5-HT in the brain of spf mice taken after microwave irradiation to prevent postmortem changes in metabolites. There were no significant changes in the catecholamine pathway in the brain during hyperammonemia despite the increases in Try and Phe.