Paracetamol prevents hyperglycinemia in vervet monkeys treated with valproate.

Valproate administration increases the level of the inhibitory transmitter, glycine, in the urine and plasma of patients and experimental animals. Nonketotic hyperglycinemia (NKH), an autosomal recessive disorder of glycine metabolism, causes increased glycine concentrations in blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), most likely due to a defect in the glycine cleavage enzyme or possibly deficits in glycine transport across cell membranes. We investigated the relationship between the hyperglycinemic effect of valproate and induced pyroglutamic aciduria via paracetamol in the vervet monkey.