COMPARISON OF IMMUNOCHEMICAL METHODS WITH THE RAT OVARIAN HYPEREMIA TEST IN ROUTINE ASSAYS OF HUMAN URINARY CHORIONIC GONADOTROPIN.

Positive rat ovarian hyperemia tests (AZ) in most cases of normal pregnancy agreed well with the positive results of commercial immunochemical in vitro assay methods. Immunochemically reactive and biologically undetectable urinary chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) was observed in one case of normal pregnancy, in one case of presumably normal pregnancy and in several cases of abortion. HCG excreted by a patient with choriocarcinoma was biologically active and immunochemically reactive; it became undetectable after methotrexate therapy. The in vitro tests have been successfully applied in quantitative gonadotropin assays. Negative bioassays and weakly positive immunochemical tests were observed in the urine of several patients in whom an increased pituitary gonadotropin output was suspected.