Determination of γ-Globulin in Serum of Tuberculous Patients

Abstract

It is generally considered that the level of total protein, albumin, globulin, and fibrinogen in the blood plasma may not deviate from the normal range so that the functional stability in the course of normal life, especially in subjects of the same descent, be not disturbed. The gamma globulin among globulin fractions is closely related to the antibody. This globulin is known to increase in cases of such diseases as acute and chronic infections.The authors have determined by the Papadopoulos phenol reagent method, the total protein and the gamma globulin fraction of serum obtained from the tuberculosis patients, and calculated the ratio of gamma globulin to total protein. We studied and compared the clinical pictures of these patients with the laboratory data obtained. In pulmonary tuberculosis it was usually found that the level of total protein in the serum was normal but the ratio of gamma globulin to total protein increased according to an increase in the gamma globulin fraction. This may represent one of the significant differences between normal men and tuberculosis patients.As a result of our observations and determinations, we found that out of the eighty-six patients nine had the low ratio of gamma globulin to total protein. Out of the nine cases five(55.6%) showed the poor improvement upon treatment, the conclusion being that the patients with the gamma globulin above normal responded better to chemotherapy than the patients with gamma globulin fraction below normal. In addition, it was also found that with an markedly increased E.S.R. the ratio of gamma globulin to total protein decreases, and that in lymphocytosis the ratio was higher than in lymphopenia.