Urinary and serum octopamine in patients with portal-systemic encephalopathy.

Urinary excretion and serum concentrations of octopamine were studied in seventeen controls, thirty-three patients with portal-systemic encephalopathy, and thirteen patients with liver disease without encephalopathy. No differences were detected between control subjects and patients without encephalopathy. Urinary excretion and serum concentrations of octopamine were significantly higher in patients with encephalopathy compared with those without encephalopathy. The presence and grade of portal-systemic encephalopathy seemed to correlate more closely with the serum-octopamine concentrations than with urinary octopamine excretion. It is postulated that octopamine may be involved in the pathogenesis of portal-systemic encephalopathy.