Relationship between circulating and dietary taurine concentrations in dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy.

A retrospective study was conducted to determine dietary taurine concentrations in dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and to compare the clinical outcome of taurine-deficient and non-taurine-deficient dogs. Taurine concentrations were low in blood samples from 20 of 37 dogs with DCM. Median dietary taurine concentration was not significantly different between taurine-deficient and nondeficient dogs. There was no correlation between dietary and circulating taurine concentrations. The outcome of taurine-deficient dogs supplemented with taurine was not different from the outcome of nondeficient dogs. The role oftaurine and its relationship to dietary intake in canine DCM remain unclear.