Semi-quantitative paper electrophoresis of serum lipoproteins

1. The needs of epidemiologic teams and clinical investigators are served better by quantitative data in digital form than by qualitative descriptions of serum lipoprotein patterns. 2. A collaborative study of 71 normal and abnormal sera revealed that values for the principal lipoprotein fractions obtained with the analytical ultracentrifuge could be estimated in from 83 to over 90 percent of samples within plus or minus 30 percent by paper electrophoresis with densitometric scanning of the strips. 3. Since significant clinical lipoprotein disorders and the results of successful therapy involve larger changes, this degree of accuracy justifies the usage of lipoprotein electrophoresis as a semi-quantitative method.