Abstract
During urinalysis of 39 patients with progressive muscular dystrophy (PMD) we have met with a patient who excreted a considerable amount of diphosphopyridin nucleotide (DPN) into his urine. The method employed was column chromatography using Dowex (resin) IXIO (formic type). The isolated and purified substance was identified as DPN by paper chromatography by its absorption spectrum showing the characteristic pattern and absorbancy change when added with potassium cyanide and yeast alcohol dehydrogenase.
In a few other PMD cases we could also observe the presence of a small amount of DPN by enzymatic determination on the elutions from resin which had been suspended in there urines beforehand. We could not, however, prove the presence of DPN in the urine of other diseases.
There have been reports concerning excretion of abnormal substances such as amino acid, creatine, creatinine and pentose into urine of PMD patients but none of DPN except ours. At present nothing definite can be said about the appearance of DPN in the urine of patients with PMD, whether it has some bearings on the pathogenesis of those patients.
