Myocardial failure in cats associated with low plasma taurine: a reversible cardiomyopathy

This pivotal study linked dilated cardiomyopathy, then a common and frequently fatal heart disease in cats, to taurine deficiency, showing that affected cats had low plasma taurine and that taurine supplementation could reverse the myocardial failure. The discovery led to taurine supplementation of commercial cat foods, after which the incidence of feline dilated cardiomyopathy fell dramatically, one of the clearest examples of a nutritional discovery eliminating a major disease. It matters because it demonstrated that a single dietary deficiency could cause a deadly, reversible heart disease, cemented taurine's status as an essential nutrient for cats, and stands as a triumph of nutritional science that saved countless feline lives through a simple change in pet food formulation.