[Urinary excretion of hydroxyproline in acromegaly (author's transl)]

Urinary excretion of hydroxyproline was examined with the Hypronosticon test in 25 patients with acromegaly (13 men, 12 women) and 15 healthy persons. At the same time, plasma levels and urinary excretion of phosphorus and calcium were also measured. Patients with active acromegaly had a significantly higher urinary hydroxyproline output (32.55 +/- 8.68 mg/24 h m2) than healthy persons (12.12 +/- 2.33 mg/24 h-m2). They also excreted considerably more hydroxyproline than patients with successfully treated acromegaly. Effective treatment was proved by STH levels and good suppressibility by 100 mg glucose. Unsucessfully treated patients, on the contrary, had a raised urinary excretion of hydroxyproline (31.23 +/- 16.61 mg/24 h-m2) and high fasting plasma levels of somatotropic hormone. Hydroxyprolinuria proved, therefore, of value in assessing the development and treatment of acromegaly.