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The renal clearances of creatinine and beta 2-microglobulin of patients with either normal or impaired kidney function were measured. The renal clearance of beta 2-microglobulin depends on the urinary pH and must be considered as an apparent renal clearance because after tubular reabsorption the compound is metabolized in the kidney. Impaired kidney function reduces the percentage of tubular reabsorption of beta 2-microglobulin.

A laser neophelometric method for the measurement of maternal plasma pregnancy specific beta1-glycoprotein levels is described. Fifty plasma specimens can be analysed within four hours at a low reagent cost. The assay has been used to determine the range of plasma pregnancy specific beta1-glycoprotein concentrations in 212 normal pregnancies of from 31 to 41 weeks gestation.

Serum beta2-microglobulin levels were measured, by radioimmunoassay, in patients suffering from a variety of benign and malignant clinical disorders. Elevated beta 2-microglobulin values were found in neoplastic and non-neoplastic disorders affecting a variety of organs. The most striking increases in beta 2-microglobulin are found in the plasma cell dyscrazias and several solid tumors, particularly those affecting the lung. Lymphoid neoplasms demonstrate a spectrum of changes of serum beta 2-microglobulin. At the one end of this spectrum were the plasma cell tumors, which show a high incidence of raised beta 2-microglobulin levels, while patients with Hodgkin's disease rarely show such increases in circulating beta 2-microglobulin.