ALTERATION OF TAURINE HOMEOSTASIS IN ACUTE HEATSTROKE

Objective: To investigate the potential role of taurine as a hypotherm ic modulator during heatstroke. Design: Prospective analyses. Setting. Heatstroke Center in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Patients: Twenty-nine adul t patients with heatstroke. Interventions. High-performance liquid chr omatography was used to measure plasma and urine taurine concentration s in heatstroke patients on admission (precooling) and 24 hrs after co mplete cooling (postcooling). Measurements and Main Results: There wer e 18 males and 11 females with a mean rectal temperature of 42.2 +/- 0 .14-degrees-C. At the precooling time period, the taurine concentratio ns were increased (plasma 180 +/- 14 mumol/L; urine 4142 +/- 720 mumol /L [normal ranges 45.5 to 138.2 and 168 to 1890 mumol/L, respectively] ). At the postcooling time period, taurine concentrations were signifi cantly (p <.0001) decreased (54 +/- 6 and 802 +/- 160 mumol/L for plas ma and urine, respectively). No correlation was found between taurine and creatine kinase activity, or between precooling temperature and ta urinemia or taurinuria. Conclusions. The source and clinical significa nce of the increased taurine concentrations are to be determined. The involvement of taurine in the regulation of core body temperature sugg ests that it may have an adaptive role in heatstroke.