Serum beta1A/C-globulin level in early myocardial infarction.

Serial titration of the third component of complement (beta1A/C-globulin) was performed in 170 serum samples of 39 patients in the early period of acute myocardial infarction. During the first 24 hours there was a rise in mean concentration values. During the next 24 hours they remained unchanged, in severe cases the mean values even decreased. Subsequently the levels continued to increase. In 27 cases a sharp fall of the level exceeding the limit of normal changes was observed. It is suggested that during the early period of acute myocardial infarction the serum concentration of beta1A/C-globulin is under the influence of two opposite processes, one inducing a decrease, the other an increase of the level.