Prognostic value of the serum proteins during severe attacks of ulcerative colitis

During the past two decades, several groups of workers have investigated the serum protein levels in patients suffering from ulcerative colitis (Tumen, Monaghan, and Jobb, 1947; Spellberg, Mosiman, and Smith, 1950; Bendandi, 1956; Bicks, Kirsner, and Palmer, 1959; Brooke, Dykes, and Walker, 1961; Soergel and Ingelfinger, 1961), and as a result of these investigations it is now widely accepted that changes in these protein levels sometimes occur. However, there is considerably less agreement about the precise nature of the changes which take place, and the mechanisms responsible, probably because most previous investigations have been confined to a single estimation of the serum proteins for each patient. The present paper reports the serum protein levels which have been noted in a consecutive group of 46 patients suffering from severe attacks of ulcerative colitis. Serial electrophoretic studies have been perfoimed in each instance, enabling the serum protein changes to be closely related to the clinical course of the patient.