We describe a validated radioimmunoassay for prealbumin in urine. Using timed overnight urine samples, the normal reference range was less than 10–148μg/L; or less than 1·8–9·6μg/mmol creatinine, excretion in women being significantly greater than in men (P<0–05); or less than 7–3–114 ng/min with no significant difference in excretion rate between the sexes. Urines exhibited loss of immunoreactivity after storage at — 20°C and thawing. No such loss occurred after storage for 4 weeks at 4°C or room temperature. The urinary excretion of prealbumin was highly correlated with that of albumin (r = 0·85), and clearance relative to creatinine was 2 × 10−6, the same order as that of albumin.
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