[Diagnostic value of the determination of free oxyproline in hereditary and acquired collagenoses].

Oxyproline is one of the major collagen amino acids, which enables it to be regarded as a marker that reflects the catabolism of this protein. The purpose of this investigation was to ascertain the diagnostic value of free oxyproline in patients with hereditary and acquired collagenoses. The examinees were divided into 2 groups: (1) patients with hereditary collagenoses and (2) those with acquired ones. The content of free oxyproline was studied by the modified methods proposed by T. P. Kuznetsova. Comparison of the amount of free oxyproline in patients in both groups revealed that this index in patients with hereditary collagenoses was 1.4 times higher than that in those with acquired connective tissue diseases.