Endocrine Abstracts

Background: The action of a steroid in any physiological process is dependent on the bioavailable (free) fraction. Direct measurements of free cortisol are expensive, labour intensive and require a significant volume of plasma and as a consequence are not feasible in the neonate. One alternative is to calculate free cortisol from the Cortisol Binding Capacity (CBC) and the total plasma cortisol. The aim of the present study was to develop an assay for the measurement of CBC in...