The urinary excretion of free taurine in acute and chronic disease, following surgical trauma, and in patients with acute alcoholism

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Summary o.1.In 40 studies carried out in 16 normal adult males the 24 hour urine taurine excretion was found to lie between 58 and 208 mg. with occasional variations in the same individuals of as much as 80 per cent. The rate of excretion was not found to be appreciably influenced by the intake of fluid. In multiple studies in three normal men high calorie, high protein diets were found to increase the output of taurine an average of 24 per cent. Low protein diets had the opposite effect. 2.Following surgical operations an abrupt elevation in the excretion of taurine was observed. Taurine excretion fell back to normal levels within several days after surgery unless complications in the postoperative course supervened. Taurine excretion was found to parallel the urinary excretion of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids. 3.Taurinuria was found in patients admitted with acute alcoholism and the elevated taurine excretion was found to persist from five to ten days after admission to the hospital. 4.Adrenal steroid therapy, miscellaneous acute infections and miscellaneous diseases of the liver and bilary tree were also found to be frequently associated with an increased output of taurine in the urine. 5.Chronic diseases of the types observed were found to have little or no effect on the excretion of taurine as long as the nutritional status of the patient was constant and as long as the patient was receiving an adequate diet. 6.The technique for the quantitative determination of urinary taurine described by Pentz et al. has been modified by the substitution of a borate buffer, pH 9.6, for 8% sodium bicarbonate. Summary o.1.In 40 studies carried out in 16 normal adult males the 24 hour urine taurine excretion was found to lie between 58 and 208 mg. with occasional variations in the same individuals of as much as 80 per cent. The rate of excretion was not found to be appreciably influenced by the intake of fluid. In multiple studies in three normal men high calorie, high protein diets were found to increase the output of taurine an average of 24 per cent. Low protein diets had the opposite effect. 2.Following surgical operations an abrupt elevation in the excretion of taurine was observed. Taurine excretion fell back to normal levels within several days after surgery unless complications in the postoperative course supervened. Taurine excretion was found to parallel the urinary excretion of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids. 3.Taurinuria was found in patients admitted with acute alcoholism and the elevated taurine excretion was found to persist from five to ten days after admission to the hospital. 4.Adrenal steroid therapy, miscellaneous acute infections and miscellaneous diseases of the liver and bilary tree were also found to be frequently associated with an increased output of taurine in the urine. 5.Chronic diseases of the types observed were found to have little or no effect on the excretion of taurine as long as the nutritional status of the patient was constant and as long as the patient was receiving an adequate diet. 6.The technique for the quantitative determination of urinary taurine described by Pentz et al. has been modified by the substitution of a borate buffer, pH 9.6, for 8% sodium bicarbonate.