Estrogen Dosage Effects on Serum Proteins: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

A longitudinal study was made in a single individual of the effects of 5 increasing doses of diethylstilbestrol, alternated with periods of no treatment, on the concentration of serum sialic acid, haptoglobin, β-glucuronidase, thyroxine-binding globulin, ceruloplasmin, plasminogen, corticosteroid-binding globulin, and 17-hydroxycorticosteroids. Except for sialic acid and haptoglobin, all these substances reacted with the same pattern of increase during treatment and return toward pretreatment control values during the periods off treatment. The responses of corticosteroid-binding globulin and 17-hydroxycorticosteroids were most closely dose related and were closely correlated with r = +0.91. They were responsive to a dosage of 0.1 mg/day of diethylstilbestrol.