Serum albumin

About: Serum albumin is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 16337 publications have been published within this topic receiving 516395 citations. The topic is also known as: blood albumin & ANALBA.

Release of human serum albumin from poly(lactide-co-glycolide) microspheres.

Abstract: Human serum albumin (HSA) was encapsulated in a 50:50 copolymer of DL-lactide/glycolide in the form of microspheres. These microspheres were used as a model formulation to study the feasibility of controlling the release of large proteins over a 20- to 30-day period. We show that HSA can be successfully incorporated into microspheres and released intact from these microspheres into various buffer systems at 37°C. A continuous release of the protein could be achieved in physiological buffers at 37°C over a 20- to 30-day period from microspheres with high protein loadings (11.6%). These results demonstrate the potential of poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) microspheres for continuous delivery of large proteins.

Reduced Serum Albumin Concentration in the Elderly: A Report from the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program

Abstract: The relation of serum albumin concentration to age was assessed in a series of hospitalized medical patients. Those with disease states (e.g., dysproteinemia, renal insufficiency, hepatic dysfunction, malnutrition) potentially associated with abnormal serum albumin levels were excluded, leaving a study population of 11,090 patients. The mean serum albumin concentration fell progressively with each decade of age, from 3.97 gm/100 ml in subjects aged less than 40, to 3.58 gm/100 ml in those aged 80 or older (F greater than 50.0, P less than .001). The percentage of patients with a normal serum albumin level (4.0 gm/100 ml or higher) also decreased progressively with age, whereas the frequency of a low serum albumin level increased with age. Sex, primary diagnosis, blood urea nitrogen concentration, duration of hospitalization, and geographic location of the hospital did not influence the findings. The reduced serum albumin concentration in the elderly could contribute to age-dependent changes in the clinical effects of certain albumin-bound drugs, since pharmacologic activity can be influenced by the extent of albumin binding, in turn related to albumin concentration.

Selective vulnerability of the blood-brain barrier in chemically induced lesions.

Abstract: 1. Vulnerability of the blood-brain barrier to unilateral intracarotid perfusion with chemical injurious agents was studied with the application of various fluorescent and radioactive tracers. 2. Evans blue when bound to albumin fluoresces brightly red in formalin-fixed frozen sections as viewed under ultraviolet light provides a useful and convenient tool for microscopic localization of this tracer. 3. Using fluorescent labeled albumin as a single indicator, several patterns of its abnormal penetration through the damaged cerebral vessels have been elucidated and discussed. 4. Tracing the BBB damage by concurrent intrasystemic administration of albumin and γ-globulin labeled with contrasting fluorescent color markers revealed dissociation features in their extravascular penetration. The albumin indicator spreads, as a rule, more extensively. 5. Differences in extent of penetration were also observed when fluorescent albumin or sodium fluorescein was concurrently used with radioactive inulin or sucrose. 6. A pronounced inhibition of C14 methyl-O-glucose brain uptake was observed on the side of a slight mercurial blood-brain barrier damage, which otherwise failed to produce any abnormal penetration of sodium fluorescein. 7. The features of selective vulnerability of the blood-brain barrier are discussed with regard to possible mechanisms involved.