[Radioimmunoassay for human myoglobin: methodology and diagnostic significance in myocardial infarction (author's transl)].

A radioimmunoassay was developed to determine serum myoglobin (SMb). 50 healthy persons showed values between 0 and 90 ng/ml. Serial tests of 10 patients following acute myocardial infarction or during angina pectoris (AP) indicated that SMb reached pathological values before CK and CK-MB (average 250 +/- 95 ng/ml at the time of hospitalisation which corresponds to 3.3 +/- 1.4 h after beginning of angina pectoris). At hospitalisation the simultaneously determined CK was within normal limits and reached pathological values only 6.2 +/- 1.9 h after the onset of angina. Maximum of SMb was 506 +/- 194 ng/ml occurring 8.8 +/- 2.8 h after beginning of AP, maximum of CK was 905 +/- 475 mU/ml occurring 20.0 +/- 7.8 h after AP. CK-MB and CK differed only slightly in their time course. One patient with severe AP had pathologically increased SMb values whilst all other enzymes were completely normal. Methodical and clinical results are discussed.