Ammonia is a colorless alkaline gas with a characteristic sharp smell. Ammonia is one of the most abundant nitrogen-containing compounds in the atmosphere. It is an irritant with a characteristic pungent odor, which is widely used in industry. Inasmuch as ammonia is highly soluble in water and, upon inhalation, is deposited in the upper airways, occupational exposures to ammonia have commonly been associated with sinusitis, upper airway irritation, and eye irritation. Acute exposures to high levels of ammonia have also been associated with diseases of the lower airways and interstitial lung. Ammonia has been shown to be a neurotoxin that predominantly affects astrocytes. Disturbed mitochondrial function and oxidative stress, factors implicated in the induction of the mitochondrial permeability transition, appear to be involved in the mechanism of ammonia neurotoxicity. Ammonia is formed in nearly all tissues and organs of the vertebrate organism; it is the most common endogenous neurot

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