ROLE OF TAURINE SUPPLEMENTATION OF CYSTIC FIBROSIS

Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine taurine supplementation (30 mg/Kg/d) effects on serum and fecal BA pattern, and on fat excretion, in CF patients. 23 children, aged 17 months to 19 years, were classified into two groups. GI patients (12) had severe steatorrhea (23.4±4.1 g.24h), and GII were 11 malnourished children with mild fecal fat excretion (4.2±0.7 g.24h). Before taurine and after 4 months of supplementation, patients were monitored for blood and fecal BA (enzimatic-fluorometric method) profiled by thin layer chromotography, nutritional status (assessed by conventional test), and fecal fat excretion (van der Kamer method). After taurine, fasting total serum BA increased from 26.4±7.7 umol/l to 48.0±9.9 umol/l in GI patients, while in GII children increased from 26.8±6.6 μmol/l to 38.2±12.6 μmol/l. Besides glycine/ taurine conjugation was altered in all patients. Before taurine, all patients had fecal BA malabsorption (average 688 mg.24h). After supplementation, only GI children showed a remarkable (p<0.001) reduction in fecal BA malabsorption, and six of them showed also a significant (p<0.001) decrease of fat excretion. In contrast, in all GII patients fat amalabsorption was important (P < 0.001) after taurine. For both GI and GII, after taurine, monitoring of growth revealed a marginal increase of weight in 52% of them, correlated with a steatorrhea reduction in 16% of the children.

Results suggest that taurine supplementation can be a useful adjunct form of therapy in CF patients with fat malabsorption. However, the serum BA increase might cause liver damage.

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