Excretion pattern of urinary glycosaminoglycans from orthopedic patients.

To obtain a clue for the metabolic disorder of glycosaminoglycans (GAG) in connective tissue diseases, a screening test for excretion pattern of urinary GAG was applied to urines from orthopedic patients. The results showed a wide variety of excretion pattern of urinary GAG from various orthopedic patients. Several cases gave irregular bands. Also, most cases of bone tumor showed abnormal excretion patterns different from the normal range of percent distribution of bands 1, 2 and 3. The data suggested abnormal metabolism of GAG in these diseases. Percent distribution of band 1 or bands 1 + 2 tended to increase in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), suggesting an elevation of the metabolic rate of chondroitin sulfates in RA. In cases of other orthopedic diseases, a half of them showed an abnormal excretion pattern of urinary GAG, but the excretion pattern of the remaining ones was within the normal range.