Serum protein polymorphisms in goitre.

Serum albumin, ceruloplasmin, transferrin and haptoglobin were studied in 50 patients with both toxic and non-toxic forms of goitre. Albumin was monomorphic in all cases and its amount was substantially lower than normal in two patients. Ceruloplasmin was both qualitatively and quantitatively normal in all patients. No genetic variants of transferrin were encountered but 22% of the patients had this protein, at levels barely detectable by electrophoretic means. Such cases of hypotransferrinaemia occurred oftener in patients with the toxic form of goitre than in those with the non-toxic one. The distribution of haptoglobin types in patients was much the same as in the control blood donors. However, the patients had a greater incidence of ahaptoglobinaemia.