[Stable isotopes in biomedical diagnosis and research].

Atoms that are chemically identical but that differed slightly in weight due to the number of nuclear neutrons are called isotopes stables, meaning that do not degrade spontaneously. Mass spectrometry is the analytical technique to evaluate the enrichment on these isotopes with a variety of applications in the clinical diagnosis of pathological processes and the quantitation of metabolic events such as bacterial growth (Helicobacter pylorii), Phenylketonuria, lactose intolerance, liver and pancreatic function, body composition and energy expenditure, cholesterogenesis, glucose utilization, etc. in an easy, non-invasive and specific way as mass spectrometers develop.