An evaluation of a non-isotopic homogeneous enzyme immunoassay (CEDIA assay) for cortisol and its clinical utility.

Serum cortisol is one of the more frequently requested steroid hormone assays. Its use is important in evaluating diseases of the adrenal cortex and pituitary. We briefly review the biochemistry of cortisol synthesis, the pathophysiology resulting from adrenal and pituitary abnormalities and the more specific immunochemical procedures which have replaced colorimetric chemical assays for cortisol. We also report our results on the evaluation of the analytical performance of the non-isotopic homogeneous CEDIA Cortisol assay and compare the advantages of this assay to state-of-the-art immunoassays.