Abstract
Summary
Urinary excretion of kynurenine was measured in a group of patients with various connective tissue diseases and compared to normal controls. Elevated kynurenine excretion was found in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythema-tosus, and in 2 patients with polymyositis; whereas excretion of kynurenine in patients with scleroderma and rheumatoid spondylitis was not significantly different from normal controls. The demonstrated difference in kynurenine excretion between patients with rheumatoid spondylitis and those with rheumatoid arthritis in this study provides additional evidence that the two conditions are distinct clinical entities.
The valuable technical assistance of Miss Geneva Blackburn is gratefully (acknowledged. The authors also wish to thank Miss Carol Brewster for supervision of the diet used in this study.
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