Serum corticosteroid binding following thermal injury.

Abstract

SummaryAn adsorption technique has been adapted to measure both the total corticosteroid-binding capacity (CBC) and corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) capacity of rat serum following thermal injury. A maximum increase in the rat serum CBC was seen 4 days following a third-degree burn. This increase in CBC activity was accounted for by a twofold increase in the activity of the CBG fraction. Changes in corticosterone levels paralleled alterations in the CBG capacity. Increased levels of CBG were still indicated when CBG capacity was corrected for changes in serum globulin levels following a burn. The binding by non-CBG serum elements remained relatively constant postburn.In contrast to the rat, no significant alteration in CBC or CBG capacity occurred in human burn patient serum. As a result, the level of cortisol in excess of CBC was as much as 5 times normal in the early postburn period and remained elevated up to 40 days after injury. It is concluded that the human, unlike the rat, does not respond wi...