Ornithine carbamoyltransferase deficiency

Ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency can occur as a severe neonatal-onset disease in males (but rarely in females) and as a post-neonatal-onset (partial deficiency) disease in males and females. Males with severe neonatal-onset OTC deficiency are typically normal at birth but become symptomatic from hyperammonemia on day two to three of life and are usually catastrophically ill by the time they come to medical attention. After successful treatment of neonatal hyperammonemic coma these infants can easily become hyperammonemic again despite appropriate treatment; they typically require liver transplant by age six months to improve quality of life. Males and heterozygous females with post-neonatal-onset (partial) OTC deficiency can present from infancy to later childhood, adolescence, or adulthood. No matter how mild the disease, a hyperammonemic crisis can be precipitated by stressors and become a life-threatening event at any age and in any situation in life. For all individuals with OTC deficiency, typical neuropsychological complications include developmental delay, learning disabilities, intellectual disability, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and executive function deficits.

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