[Immunoassay of synthetic corticosteroids]

Synthetic corticosteroids, such as betamethasone and dexamethasone, have been widely used for diagnosis and therapy of various diseases in the area of clinical medicine. When synthetic corticosteroids are to be administered over long periods, the dose must be the smallest one that will achieve the desired effect. This dose must be determined by blood levels of these steroids. We have investigated the application of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the measurement of blood levels of synthetic corticosteroids. In this section, the development and application of EIA for betamethasone and dexamethasone are described.