BLOOD TAURINE AFTER MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION

Taurine, an amino acid that is present in high concentrations in the heart, is released from the heart after myocardial damage. There is evidence that the concentration of taurine in whole blood is raised after myocardial infarction (MI), and it has been suggested that blood taurine may be a measure of the degree of infarction. We have obtained serial measurements of blood taurine in patients admitted to a coronary care unit and have compared the results with those obtained for two cardiac enzymes (AST and HBD) and other blood parameters.

The patients were divided into two groups: those for whom there was a peak of AST activity (> 40 i.u./l) (Group 1, n = 24) and those for whom AST and HBD was not raised (Group 2, n = 15). For Group 1 patients, mean results were obtained for each of the parameters for the day on which AST peaked (designated Day 0) and for preceeding and subsequent days. For Group 2 a single mean was obtained. Results marked * in the table differ significantly (p < 0.05 or lower) from those for Group 2:

It can be seen that blood taurine was significantly raised after MI and followed a pattern similar to the neutrophil count. Furthermore, several positive correlations (r = 0.63-0.79) were obtained between taurine and neutrophil count in both groups, but not between taurine and AST or HBD.

In another investigation we measured the amounts of taurine in neutrophils, platelets and plasma from patients with MI (n = 5) and controls (n = 9). We found no differences in the amounts present per neutrophil, per platelet or per ml of plasma.

Our data suggest that the increased level of taurine in blood after MI merely reflects the increased number of neutrophils present in blood following the event.