Correlation of daily urinary excretion of met-enkephalin-like immunoreactivity and epinephrine in men |
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Authors: | T Yanase H Nawata K Kato H Ibayashi |
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Institution: | Third Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. |
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Abstract: | To investigate the source of urinary Met-enkephalin-like immunoreactivity (MELI), 24-h urinary excretion of MELI and catecholamines (CAs) were examined in normal subjects and patients with tuberculous Addison's disease. MELI was present in urine and 24-h urinary excretion of MELI averaged 813.8 +/- 446.9 ng/day in normal subjects (N = 33, Mean +/- SD). 24-h urinary excretion of MELI in normal subjects significantly showed positive correlation with 24-h urinary epinephrine (E) (R = 0.392, P less than 0.05) but no correlation with that of norepinephrine (NE) or dopamine (DA). In two patients with tuberculous Addison's disease, 24-h urinary excretion of MELI and that of E were significantly lower than those of normal subjects. These results indicate that the main source of urinary MELI may be adrenal medulla. |
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