EFFECT OF TAURINE ON EPINEPHRINE AND DIGOXIN INDUCED IRREGULARITIES OF THE DOG HEART

¹ Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, State University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota

Experiments were performed to test the hypothesis that taurine, supplied to heart tissue, is capable of depressing epinephrine and digoxin induced arrhythmias.

The intravenous administration of 2.5 mmol of taurine per kg of body weight to anesthetized, vagotomized dogs did not alter the heart rate or blood pressure and exhibited no toxicity to the heart. The compound did not alter the increase in heart rate or blood pressure caused by pharmacological doses of epinephrine.

The intravenous administration of 0.5 mmol of taurine per kg of body weight to anesthetized, vagotomized dogs depressed the development of epinephrine-induced ventricular premature contractions. The results showed that the amount of epinephrine required to produce ventricular ectopic rhythms is greatly increased when the level of isethionic acid in the ventricular tissue is increased above 20 µmol per gram of dry tissue.

The intravenous administration of 2 to 10 mmol of taurine per kg of body weight to anesthetized, vagotomized dogs stopped acute digoxin-induced arrhythmias and, in trained unanesthetized dogs, reverted chronic digitoxin-induced ventricular premature contractions to a normal sinus rhythm.

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