Human muscular dystrophy: elevation of urinary dimethylarginines.

The amounts of the dimethylarginines NG,NG-dimethylarginine (DMA) and NG,N'G-dimethylarginine (DM'A) excreted in the urine of muscular dystrophic patients were examined and compared with the amounts excreted by normal controls, patients with other types of neuromuscular diseases, and patients with disuse muscle atrophy resulting from traumatic paralysis. The patients with muscular dystrophy excreted high concentrations of DMA and this urine showed high ratios of DMA to DM'A. This finding indicates a relation between protein methylation processes and muscular dystrophy.