An Update on Taurine Supplementation

Case studies serve a purpose in nutrition and medical research because looking at individuals or small groups of people may provide a direction that research can take. I recently read a research paper that examined two children from a Middle Eastern family that shared three symptoms: rapidly progressive childhood retinal degeneration, cardiomyopathy, and almost undetectable blood taurine levels. Logically, the first step would be to see if supplementing with taurine would help the affected family members, and it did.

But they also examined whether there were any processes that did not work properly. In this case, they identified a defect in a gene that processed taurine; that explained the low taurine levels. After supplementing 100 mg per kilogram of bodyweight per day, the children’s taurine levels returned to normal. With permission of the Human Subjects Review Board, they continued the supplementation for two years. The cardiomyopathy was eliminated after supplementation. Unfortunately, one of the siblings remained blind because deterioration had progressed too far.

Where does that leave us? While the testing for the genetic mutation may not be practical, it may be that taurine supplementation could be tested for deteriorating vision and cardiomyopathy. That’s the benefit of case studies: they give us direction.

Nutrition in the 21st Century in Atlanta

There are still seats left for the Dr. Chet Seminar in Atlanta. If you can make it to Atlanta, I’d love to see you there. Those three hours will be over before you know it, and what you’ll learn you’ll be able to use for a lifetime. Check it out today. And if you’re planning to attend this or any other meeting, start supplementing to boost your immune system now.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: Hum Mol Genet. 2019 Dec 31. pii: ddz303. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddz303.