Serum insulin-like growth factor levels do not predict functional recovery after hospitalization in nonagenarian patients.

Aim: To analyze the insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) serum levels in nonagenarian patients and to investigate the predictive capacity of this measure to assess the functional recovery of this population following hospitalization.

Methods: We performed a prospective study in 60 consecutive nonagenarian patients admitted for medical or surgical diseases. We assessed IGF-1 serum levels and nutritional status.

Evaluation of the AxSYM monoclonal cyclosporin assay and comparison with radioimmunoassay.

Recently, a semiautomated fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) for determination of parent cyclosporin (CsA) has been developed for the Abbott AxSYM system. The new CsA assay measures the drug from an extracted whole blood specimen. The authors report here the evaluation of this new assay and the comparison with a previously validated radioimmunoassay (RIA) method (CYCLO-Trac SP).