Diaminuria

Diaminuria, presence of diamines in urine. To determine in urine diamines—cadaverine and putrescine—succeeds comparatively rarely—in certain cases of cystinuria, in phosphorus poisoning, in severe diseases of the liver, etc. Cadaverine is formed from arginine (see), putrescine—from lysine, i.e., from the amino acids found in cystinuria. Cadaverine and putrescine are bases chemically close to alkaloids. They are formed in the intestine during putrefactive processes, among other things and in cholera. Baumann put forward a theory according to which D. is merely a consequence of the formation of non-toxic bases—diamines—from toxic amino acids by the removal of the carboxyl group. A number of authors obtained D. experimentally, feeding animals tyrosine, protein-cystine, etc. Treatment of D. is treatment of the underlying disease. Administration of sulfur preparations (sulfur milk according to Mester), cholic acid, turpentine therapy (according to Cantani), etc., is recommended.