This seems to be a postgraduate thesis on trimethylaminuria, but is quite a good summary of the condition and still relevant today. Written by H Rehman while they were at Hull Royal Infirmary, UK.
Some interesting quotes :
Trimethylaminuria was thought to be a rare condition, but evidence suggests
that its prevalence is much higher than initially thought. In a study involving 82
Jordanian subjects, eight subjects (9.7%) excreted less than 80% of their total
trimethylamine as trimethylamine oxide.4 A similar study showed 1.7% of the
Jordanian population, 3.8% of the Ecuadorian population and 11% of the New
Guinean population excreted less than 80% of their total trimethylamine as the
N-oxide.5 In another study involving 421 British white volunteers, 16 subjects
(3.8%) excreted less than 90% of their total trimethylamine output as N-oxide,
of which six subjects (1.4%) excreted less than 80% as N-oxide.6
Normal individuals excrete about 1 mg of
trimethylamine and 50 mg of trimethylamine oxide in the urine in 24 hours, but
excretion varies with diet. N-Oxide enzymatic oxidation capacity is rarely
exceeded on an average diet. However, normal individuals can smell of rotting
fish if 20 g of pure choline is given to them orally.10 This is because of the resultant
excessive production of trimethylamine, which exceeds the capacity of the
normal healthy liver to oxidise it to a non-odorous oxide.
Full TMAU overview in PDF format
1999 TMAU overview abstract
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