Chromatography, flow injection analysis and electrophoresis in computer-assisted comparative biochemistry: its application and possibilities in clinical research. Preliminary studies on Crohn's disease.
A computer-assisted multicomponent analytical system, developed for comparative biochemical studies, was used for a clinical study of Crohn's disease in which 73 subjects, of comparable age and sex distribution, were considered: 40 with Crohn's disease, 16 with ulcerative colitis and 17 healthy volunteers as controls. Blood samples (5 ml) were taken to recover plasma and red cells. After extraction and fractionation of low- and high-molecular weight substances, the samples were analysed by ion-exchange chromatography and electrophoresis. The contents of amino acids, sugars, polyamines and proteins in the plasma and the red cells from the three groups of individuals were compared using statistical (means, variance, principal components analysis) and graphical profile methods. The first results indicate that the content of red cells, in comparison with plasma, allows the best differentiation of the three groups of subjects considered. In particular, the amino acids (Asp, Thr, Ser, Glu, Gly, Ala and Leu), the polyamines (spermidine and spermine) and glucose, show the most significant differences. The methodology followed and the results obtained, together with possible uses of this computer-assisted multicomponent analytical system in problems concerning clinical research, are discussed.