[The specific effect of plasma proteins in erythrocyte sedimentation. An analysis of the correlation coefficients between ESR and the concentration of twenty individual plasma proteins in healthy and sick persons, with special reference to myocardial infarction (author's transl)].

1. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between erythrocyte sedimentation rate and the concentration of twenty individual plasma proteins was determined in 72 persons including 37 patients with recent myocardial infarction. The highest correlation coefficients with ESR could be demonstrated in the following proteins: fibrinogen, alpha-1-acid-glycoprotein, alpha-2-macroglobulin, alpha-1-antitrypsin, coeruloplasmin, Ig M. The closest correlation with ESR was found, when the molar concentrations of fibrinogen, alpha-2-macroglobulin and Ig M were summed up. 2. Subdivision of the examined group of patients according to their diagnosis showed that the degree of correlation with ESR in many plasma proteins essentially depends on the composition of the studied group of patients. The patients with myocardial infarction, with pneumonia and those with neoplasma all showed distinctly different patterns of correlation. These obviously reflect underlying changes in the concentrations of the studied proteins, that seem to be specific to the respective disease. 3. In 4 patients with myocardial infarction the changes in plasma protein concentrations together with ESR were followed over a period of 26 days after the infarction.