Shahid Beheshti Medical University, Loghman Hakim Hospital, Tehran, Iran.
J Cardiol. 2011 May;57(3):333-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jjcc.2011.01.007. Epub 2011 Feb 19.
Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) is a semi-essential amino acid found in mammalian tissues that is not involved in protein synthesis. The function of taurine is not completely understood. Some studies have demonstrated that taurine supplementation reduces death rate in rabbits with heart failure (HF) and diminishes HF severity in human models of congestive HF. In this study we have evaluated the effect of taurine supplementation on exercise capacity of patients with HF.
A randomized single-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted on 29 patients with HF with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) less than 50% who were in functional class II or III according to New York Heart Association classification. A total of 15 patients received taurine supplementation 500 mg three times a day while the remaining 14 patients received placebo for 2 weeks. All patients performed exercise tolerance test before and after taurine and placebo supplementation.
The mean age of patients was 60.57 ± 6.54 years, they were mostly male (26 of 29), and had mean LVEF of 29.27 ± 6.97%. There were no significant differences in terms of LVEF, body mass index, and also exercise time, metabolic equivalents (METS) and exercise distance before supplementation. Exercise time, METS, and exercise distance increased significantly in patients who received taurine supplement for 2 weeks (p-value<0.0001 for all), but did not increase significantly in patients who received placebo (p-values 0.379, 0.244, and 0.577 respectively).
Taurine supplementation in patients with HF who are taking standard medical treatment can increase their exercise capacity.
牛磺酸（2-氨基乙磺酸）是哺乳动物组织中发现的一种半必需氨基酸，不参与蛋白质合成。牛磺酸的功能尚未完全了解。一些研究表明，牛磺酸补充剂可降低心力衰竭（HF）兔的死亡率，并减轻充血性 HF 人类模型中的 HF 严重程度。在这项研究中，我们评估了牛磺酸补充对 HF 患者运动能力的影响。
对 29 名左心室射血分数（LVEF）<50%且根据纽约心脏协会分类处于 II 级或 III 级的 HF 患者进行了随机、单盲、安慰剂对照的临床试验。共有 15 名患者接受牛磺酸补充剂 500mg，每日 3 次，而其余 14 名患者接受安慰剂治疗 2 周。所有患者在接受牛磺酸和安慰剂补充前后均进行了运动耐量试验。
患者的平均年龄为 60.57 ± 6.54 岁，大多数为男性（29 名中的 26 名），平均 LVEF 为 29.27 ± 6.97%。在补充前，LVEF、体重指数和运动时间、代谢当量（METS）和运动距离均无显著差异。接受牛磺酸补充 2 周的患者的运动时间、METS 和运动距离显著增加（所有 p 值均<0.0001），但接受安慰剂的患者则没有显著增加（p 值分别为 0.379、0.244 和 0.577）。
HF 患者在接受标准药物治疗的同时补充牛磺酸可以增加其运动能力。
