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Hyaluronic acid is increased in the skin and urine in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

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Abstract

We performed morphological studies of skin and measured glycosaminoglycans in the urine from patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and control subjects. The wide spaces separating collagen bundles reacted strongly with alcian blue stain in ALS patients and stained more markedly as ALS progressed. Staining with alcian blue was virtually eliminated by Streptomyces hyaluronidase. The urinary excretion of hyaluronic acid (HA) (mg/day) was significantly increased (P < 0.01) in ALS patients compared with that of control subjects, and there was a significant positive correlation between the excreted amount of HA and the duration of illness in advanced ALS patients with a duration of more than 2 years from clinical onset (r = 0.72,P < 0.02). We suggest that sporadic ALS includes a metabolic disorder of HA in which an accumulation of HA in the skin is linked to an increased urinary excretion of HA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Ichihara Hospital, 3426-3, 299-01, Anesaki, Ichihara City, Chiba, Japan

    Seiitsu Ono

  2. Department of Neurology, National Sanatorium, Chiba-Higashi Hospital, Chiba, Japan

    Takashi Imai

  3. Dental Research Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Mitsuo Yamauchi

  4. Department of Pathology, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Ichihara Hospital, Chiba, Japan

    Koichi Nagao

Authors
  1. Seiitsu Ono
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  2. Takashi Imai
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  3. Mitsuo Yamauchi
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  4. Koichi Nagao
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Ono, S., Imai, T., Yamauchi, M. et al. Hyaluronic acid is increased in the skin and urine in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Neurol 243, 693–699 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00873974

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00873974

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