Urinary Amino Acid and Peptide Excretion Patterns in Patients with Muscular Dystrophy (Duchenne): A Preliminary Study with the AutoAnalyzer

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Abstract
An amino acid AutoAnalyzer was used to monitor the excretion patterns of the urinary amino acids and peptides of 7 male patients (aged 3-17) with muscular dystrophy of the Duchenne type. In comparison with the output of 8 healthy boys (aged 3-12), on the average, a reduction in the excretion of Thr, Ser, Gly, Ala, Val, Ile, Tyr, Lys, and His over a 24-hr period was found in the urine of the patients, although the number of analyses was too small for statistically significant conclusions. The content of Asp, Glu, Phe, and Leu was about equal, and Pro and Hyp were present in very small quantities. Also, for the first time, a peptide analyzer was used to study the bound components from urine specimens of the patients. Excretion patterns of several peptides in three of the above patients aged 3-17 were found to differ from those of the controls. Of the six major peptide fractions examined, five were present in smaller amounts in the urine of patients; only one was elevated. It appears from these preliminary results that further study of the excretion patterns of amino acids and peptides of dystrophic patients is worthwhile, and that study of the peptides should be given preference.

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