Collagen diseases and the biosynthesis of collagen.

Increasing knowledge concerning the molecular structure of collagen and the steps involved in its biosynthesis provides the basis for a new look at the collagen diseases. Some, like the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, are now known to be the expression of primary molecular defects; others, such as scurvy and scleroderma, appear to be secondary to some process that disrupts normal controls over collagen synthesis or deposition.