ABSTRACT
In patients with pulmonary diseases, serum alpha 1-antitrypsin (AAT) was measured by three methods: radial immunodiffusion (RID), trypsin inhibitory capacity assay (TIC) and by rate nephelometry with the immunosystem (NIA) in a total of 369 subjects (sarcoidosis, n = 35; asthma, n = 41; chronic obstructive bronchitis, n = 62; bronchogenic carcinoma, n = 93; pneumonia, n = 24; tuberculosis, n = 43; fibrosis, n = 22; healthy controls, n = 49). Considering all patients, AAT was found to be significantly elevated (p less than 0.01-0.001) in all methods (RID: 3.3 +/- 1.0 g/l; TIC: 2.7 +/- 0.4 g/l; NIA: 2.1 +/- 0.8 g/l) compared to healthy controls (RID: 2.1 +/- 0.3 g/l; TIC: 2.1 +/- 0.4 g/l; NIA: 1.2 +/- 0.3 g/l). The lowest mean values were found by means of the NIA method. The best correlation coefficient (R) was evaluated between the TIC and the NIA method (R = 0.96) in healthy controls, but the best correlated methods were the RID and the NIA (R = 0.93) in patients with pulmonary disease.
Subject(s)
Lung Diseases/blood , alpha 1-Antitrypsin/analysis , Adult , Aged , Child , Female , Humans , Immunodiffusion , Male , Methods , Middle AgedABSTRACT
The catalytic activity of lactate dehydrogenase, gamma-glutamyltransferase, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminopeptidase and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase has been measured in 24 h urines of patients with a calcium oxalate calculus (9 men, 11 women) and has been compared with those of a reference collective (11 men, 10 women). The diagnostic sensitivity and the diagnostic specificity have been calculated according to four different discrimination methods in which the diagnostic sensitivity lies between 65% and 100%, the diagnostic specificity between 72% and 100%. Within the reference group there was a correlation between the excretion of the three brush-border enzymes, whereas within the group of patients only a correlation between gamma-glutamyltransferase and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase was observed. From this pathophysiological conclusions can be drawn.