TCA Full Form
What is the full form of TCA ?
The full form of TCA is “TriCyclic Antidepressant screen. This is used to test the amount of tricyclic antidepressant present in the blood or urine. It is one of the types of Antidepressants. Antidepressants are the medicines that treat depression and serious illness. It is the best antidepressant and causes less side effects when compared to other antidepressants. There are several types of antidepressants and each of them work in different ways. These medicines can be helpful in normal doses but taking too much can be fatal. It is a common antidepressant which is less effective or ineffective over time. The commonly prescribed TCAs are Doxepin, Nortriptyline, Amitriptyline, Imipramine, Desipramine. TCA has to be carefully dosed, because overdose of TCA results in many deaths in the United States.
Uses of tricyclic antidepressant screen
TCA screen is mainly used to:
Help health care providers prescribe the right dose of TCA.
It finds out if anyone is misusing TCA.
This test checks for the presence of different prescription and illegal drugs.
It diagnoses a TCA overdose and proper treatment of overdose may save the life.
Symptoms of tricyclic antidepressant overdose
Overdose of TCA may leads to:
Trouble thinking
Confusion
Sedation
Hallucinations
Serious changes in heartbeat
Low blood pressures
Seizure
Blurred vision
Constipation
drowsiness
Dry mouth
Body temperature is too high which is known as hyperthermia
Dilated pupils
Weight loss
Loss of appetite
Tricarboxylic acid
It is also known as tricarboxylic acid cycle which is also known as krebs cycle and citric acid cycle. It is a series of chemical reactions which is used by all the aerobic organisms. It is a second stage of cellular respiration which is a three stage process by which living cells break down the organic fuel molecules in the presence of oxygen to collect the energy that is used for their growth. It is a metabolic process which occurs in most plants, animals and many bacteria and also carried out in the matrix of intracellular structures called mitochondria. It plays a key role in the breakdown of glucose and other fatty acids and some amino acids. TCA cycle is used to convert acetyl coenzyme A(CoA) into carbon dioxide and energy. The TCA cycle consists of 8 different steps. They are as follows:
The cycle is initiated when acetyl CoA reacts with the compound oxaloacetate to form citrate and to release coenzyme A.
Citrate is rearranged to form isocitrate.
Isocitrate loses a molecule of carbon dioxide and undergoes oxidation to form alpha ketoglutarate.
alpha ketoglutarate loses a molecule of carbon dioxide and undergoes oxidation to form succinyl CoA.
Succinyl CoA is enzymatically converted to succinate.
Succinate is oxidised and forms fumarate.
Fumarate is hydrated to form malate.
Malate is oxidised to form oxaloacetate.
Other Full Form of Tricyclic Antidepressant
TCA - Tricyclic Antidepressant
TCA - Tricarboxylic acid
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The British biochemist Sir Hans Adolf Krebs proposed this cycle which is called a citric cycle in 1937. After the invention of coenzyme A (CoA) in 1945 by two scientists Fritz Nitmann and Nathan Kaplan allowed the researchers to work out the cycle of reactions that were known today.
TCA test is done with a blood sample. A needle is used to draw blood from a vein in the arm or hand. It is also done with a urine sample which gives the results as either negative or positive.
The TCA cycle acts as a final oxidative mechanism for the degradation of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and amino acids using acetyl coenzyme A(CoA) and other TCA intermediary products which are obtained during the cyclic process.
The end products of thus cycle are
Two carbon dioxide molecules
Three NADH(nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide plus Hydrogen) molecules, three hydrogen ions and one FADH2(flavin adenine dinucleotide) molecule.
One ATP(Adenosine Triphosphate) or GTP(Guanosine Triphosphate) molecule.
The various applications of tricarboxylic acid include:
Used as flavouring agent
Pharmaceutical applications
Detergents manufacturing
Electroplating
Leather tanning
Cosmetic industries