Abstract
Summary
A new radioimmunoassay for human procollagen showed that the sera of 46 of 50 untreated patients with Paget's disease of bone contained increased concentrations of procollagen protein as compared to normal adults. After therapy with disodium etidronate, all the elevated serum procollagen concentrations decreased significantly, falling to normal levels in 33 of 40 patients. The procollagen levels before and after treatment were coordinate with the values for urinary total hydroxyproline and serum alkaline phosphatase activity. The data show that the radioimmunoassay for procollagen is a dependable and useful adjunct to the study of Paget's disease of bone.
The authors thank Dr. Robert E. Canfield of Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and Dr. Walther Bohne of The Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, N.Y., for making available sera and clinical chemistries from 36 of their patients. Their studies were supported in part by NIH Grant No. AMO 9579.
This work was supported by NIH Grant No. 1 R01 HL 17551-01, and by funds from Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. M. B. Taubman is a recipient of NIH Medical Scientist Fellowship No. 5-T05-GM 01668-11. The authors acknowledge the expert technical assistance of Sheila Heitner and Maryann Kunigonis.
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