[Change in glucocorticoid-binding function of transcortin in acute gastroduodenal hemorrhaging]

The glucocorticoid-binding function of transcortin was studied in the blood serum of 31 patients with gastroduodenal ulcer complicated by moderate hemorrhage. The patients received a routine multimodality therapy. Sixteen donors serves as a control. Labelled cortisol was used to determine the time course of specific glucocorticoid saturation of transcortin. The Scatchard analysis defined the number of specific transcortin binding sites, the association and dissociation constants of cortisol-transcortin complexes. The blood levels of cortisol and insulin were measured using test kits (France). In patients with hemorrhage-complicated ulcer, the cortisol binding sites to transcortin substantially increased in number on days 7 to 14, and on the contrary, the association constant decreased. The serum content of endogenous cortisol significantly rose, starting from day 1 to day 14 of the onset of hemorrhage. Insulin levels significantly decreased only on days 14 of bleeding. In posthemorrhagic patients, the cortisol/insulin index drastically elevated and remained high within 14 days. A role of serum transcortin functional changes in patients with hemorrhage-complicated ulcerous disease in metabolic and immunogenetic processes.