Serum haptoglobins in pregnancy.

Serum haptoglobin types and levels were determined by starch gel electrophoresis and a colorimetric method based on the peroxidase activity of the haptoglobin-methaemoglobin complex in 220 pregnant women and 120 normal female subjects. The frequency distributions of haptoglobin types in the 2 groups of subjects were similar. No correlation between the number of gravida or duration of pregnancy and serum haptoglobin levels were observed in pregnant subjects. Haptoglobin values were found to be low in 39% of pregnant women and a direct relationship between these low haptoglobin levels and the haemoglobin concentrations was observed. The cause of low haptoglobin values was probably haemodilution and increased blood estrogen concentrations during pregnancy.

Studies on the pathogenicity of Ancylostoma ceylanicum. I. Blood loss in experimental dogs.

Blood loss caused by A. ceylancium was determined in 13 dogs using 51Cr-labelled red cells. Blood loss was first detected in the faeces on the 10th to 13th day after cutaneous and 8th to 16th day after oral infection respectively. The mean blood loss was found to be 0.033 ml/worm/day and 0.038 ml/worm/day in these 2 groups of dogs respectively. There was a direct relationship between the number of worm and the amount of blood loss. The blood loss expressed as ml per worm per day showed a reverse relationship with the number of worms recovered. Considering a large amount of blood loss and the decrease in haematological values in these dogs, A. ceylanicum should be considered as one of the hookworm species of medical importance.

Measurement of total iron binding capacity in Thai Blood donors by a micro-technique.

A micro-method with a high percentage of reproducibility and recovery was used to determine TIBC in 207 Thai blood donors. The mean values of TIBC were found to be 312 mu-g per 100 ml (S.D. = 46) in 149 male and 339 mu-g per 100 ml (S.D. = 58) in 58 female subjects respectively. There was a good relationship between these values and those obtained from the macro-technique using bathophenathroline in 105 samples. The corresponding results determined by the macro-technique were 328 mu-g per 100 ml (S.D. = 59) and 328 mu-g per 100 ml (S.D. = 74) in 106 male and 40 female subjects respectively. These results were fond to be in accordance with the result reported previously by other authors using different methods. The micro-method used in the present studies needed only 0.2 ml of serum. Determination of TIBC by this method and serum iron by the ultra-micro technique would be very valuable in the investigation of anaemia in the field studies particularly in infants.