Spotlight to DRG´s 17-OH Progesterone ELISA
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is one of the most common autosomal recessive disorders in humans and is characterized by impaired cortisol synthesis in the adrenal glands. The prevalence of newborns with CAH is about 1:15,000. CAH can cause abnormal development of sex organs and sexual characteristics. Symptoms of the disorder range from mild to severe. If not treated, the more severe forms of CAH can cause serious complications, including dehydration, low blood pressure, and abnormal heartbeat (arrhythmia).The impaired Cortisol synthesis leads to an accumulation of 17-OH progesterone (17-OHP) in blood.
Therefore, 17-OHP is most widely used to:
- Diagnose CAH in newborns.
- Diagnose CAH in older children and adults who may have a milder form of the disorder. In milder CAH, symptoms may show up later in life, or sometimes not at all.
- Monitor treatment for CAH
17-OHP testing for CAH is now required by law as part of newborn screening in many countries e.g. USA). A newborn screening is a simple blood test that checks for a variety of serious diseases.
Older children and adults may also need testing if they have symptoms of CAH. Symptoms will be different depending on how severe the disorder is, the age when symptoms appear, and whether you are male or female.
DRG offers immunoassays for the determination of 17-OH Progesterone
- In serum/plasma
- In saliva
- Fully automated on our instrument DRG:HYBRiD-XL®
- Automated on open ELISA platform such as DYNEX DS2® or DSX®
