THE OVARIAN ASCORBIC ACID DEPLETION TEST FOR LUTEINIZING HORMONE

Abstract

ABSTRACT Urinary extracts from two women hypophysectomized for metastasizing mammary adenocarcinoma and from 11 children of either sex between 5 and 9 years were found to produce marked ovarian ascorbic acid depletion in the Parlow test for luteinizing hormone. As these urines cannot contain significant amounts of luteinizing hormone, it is concluded that the depletion must be due to unspecific substances, probably proteins in the urines. From the literature other indications of non-specificity of the Parlow test are mentioned, and the main conclusion of the present investigation is that for the assay of luteinizing hormone in extracts of human urine the test is unreliable.