Biochemical analysis of dermis and urine in generalized scleroderma.

The urinary excretion of uronic acid and the hydroxyproline of a urinary fraction of high molecular weight collagen peptides (% of total Hyp) indicate disease activity in generalized scleroderma. A significant decrease in the content of Hyp and Hyl in the skin of sclerodermal patients is not related to activity, but rather to the duration of the disease. Parallel analyses of skin and urine of the same patients are reported.