Application of high performance liquid chromatography in study of sulphur amino acid metabolism in uremic patients.

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for the quantitation of the free amino acids in plasma and muscle samples from 34 patients with chronic renal failure; of these patients, 18 were treated by hemodialysis (HD) and 16 by continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Depletion of taurine was observed in plasma and muscle of uremic patients, whereas methionine was normal. Cysteine sulphinic acid was present in plasma of all uremic patients. The results suggest that taurine depletion is due to decreased endogenous synthesis in uremic patients.