250 P. SOUPART 
glandular ones whose external secretions are protein-rich in physiological conditions. 
As a result of this tissue breakdown a hyperaminoaciduria develops*, which affects 
all urinary amino acids and specially taurine and BAIBA. When protein deprivation 
is slight only taurine and BAIBA excretion are involved. It is in the more severe 
cases, when the kidney itself is affected, that hyperaminoaciduria extends to all 
urinary amino acids. As shown by Vis e¢ al.°%, © adequate therapy, consisting in a 
protein-rich diet, mainly constituted of milk proteins which allow for a high supply 
of indispensable amino acids and especially of lysine, is highly effective in these 
patients. Aminoaciduria is enhanced at first but very soon, in a week or two, and 
in 24h in the case of taurine, the urinary amino acid pattern returns to normal, 
except for BAIBA, which remains elevated in urine for a longer period, even for 2 
months after otherwise succesful treatment*!. 
Fasting itself, provided it is of some duration, has been observed to produce a 
similar hyperexcretion of taurine and BAIBA®: 81. As will be seen in the next 
section, similar findings are also typical of X-irradiation. 
Effects of X-irradiation on free amino acids in urine and plasma in certain types 
of malignant diseases 
Studies of patients accidentally injured by nuclear radiations have drawn attention, 
among other features, to the hyperaminoaciduria that follows the exposure. Such 
was the case for the Los Alamos and more recently for the Yugoslavian accidents 
which effects have been described extensively by EMPELMAN et al.®8 and by JAMMET 
et al.®4, respectively. Aside from such undesirable events, there is a much more 
common occurrence, namely the therapeutic irradiation of a cancerous patient. Two 
such instances** have been investigated by SOUPART®, 66 by means of ion-exchange 
chromatography and typical observations are described below. 
In a case of chronic lymphocytic leukemia plasma and urine amino acid analyses 
were performed before and during treatment which consisted in this case of 50-r 
X-rays external doses delivered at first on the very enlarged spleen area only and 
afterwards on very large lymph nodes located in the neck. Free amino acid urinary 
pattern and blood plasma composition in this patient before treatment are illus- 
trated by Fig. rand Fig. 4, respectively. Both of them were quite normal according to 
the standards given in the section FREE AMINO ACIDS IN URINE AND BLOOD PLASMA 
(p. 225). Following local X-rays therapy, the main feature of the urinary amino acid 
pattern was an increased output of both taurine and BAIBA, all other urinary 
amino acids remaining apparently unaffected, except for an increased methionine 
sulfoxide excretion and the very transient appearance of an unusual component, 
eluted in the range of methionine sulfone. 
Fig. g shows the daily excretion of BAIBA during the treatment as compared to 
* According to very recent work®® hyperaminoaciduria which develops in such protein de- 
ficiencies, as well as in rickets, might be a reflection of a trend tc adaptation of the intracellular 
pool of free amino acids to electro-osmotic variations. Aminoaciduria under normal conditions 
might have the same meaning. 
** The opportunity to study these cases has been provided by courtesy of Dr. H. J. TaGNon, 
Head of Internal Medicine Department. Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels University, Cancer 
Treatment and Research Center, Brussels (Belgium). 
References p. 261/262 
