Evaluation of the Clinical Effect of Taurine as Adjuvant Therapy in Chronic Heart Failure Patients

Abstract

Background:Ample of preclinical studies suggested several beneficial effects of taurine in chronic heart failure (CHF) patients. Most of these effects could be attributed to taurine’s ability to antagonize the deleterious effects of angiotensin II and norepinephrine on heart; hence it may improve the prognosis in these patients. We sought to evaluate the effect of taurine on amino terminal of pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels, a well characterized marker for heart failure. Our secondary goals were to evaluate the effect of taurine on Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 levels; left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end diastolic volume (LVEDV), left ventricular end systolic volume (LVESV); New York Heart Association (NYHA) class and Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) scores. Patients and methods:Thirty four CHF patients with LVEF≤ 40 % and NYHA class II or III were admitted to the cardiac rehabilitation program and underwent randomization to either taurine (1 gm capsule twice daily) or control groups. Both groups were on optimum guideline directed medical therapy and were followed up for two months. All patients underwent evaluation regarding NT-proBNP Levels, MMP-2 levels, echocardiographic parameters, NYHA class and MLHFQ at baseline and after two months. Results:There were a significant reduction in NT-proBNP levels in taurine group (median; from 216.4 to 120.1 pg/ml, p=0.009) and in control group (median; from 352.7 to 208.8 pg/ml, p=0.002). However, the percent change between groups was not significant. Regarding NYHA class, taurine group showed significant improvement (median; from 2 to 1, p=0.002) while a non-statistical significant improvement occurred in control group. As compared to the control group, there was no significant difference between groups at the end of the study. Improvement of echocardiographic parameters and MLHFQ scores occurred in both groups but with no significant differencebetween groups. Conclusion:This study showed that taurine does not have any favorable effect on echocardiographic parameters (LVEF, LVESV, LVEDV), NT-proBNP levels, MMP-2 levels, NYHA class and quality of life in CHF patients subjected to cardiac rehabilitation program. Key words:Taurine, Heart Failure, NT-proBNP, cardiac rehabilitation.