The Threat of Commercial Hormone Kits to Endocrinology

Over the last decades, the market for commercial hormone kits has grown considerably. The kits are today used extensively in endocrine research and diagnostics. Unfortunately, a significant fraction of the kits are unreliable in both analytical and diagnostic terms. Consequently, the aim of the present article is to draw critical attention among endocrinologists to the reliability of commercial hormone kits. For that purpose, we have briefly reviewed the kit situation for four different hormones: The brain-gut hormone cholecystokinin (CCK); the antral hormone gastrin; the pancreatic hormone glucagon; and the cardiac natriuretic hormones. We conclude that the situation for the described peptide hormones probably shows only the tip of an iceberg. Therefore, we strongly recommend kit producers examine their products carefully with respect to the new endocrine biology and diagnostic reliability before the kits are marketed. Moreover, we also recommend quality regulation of the kit market in line with the regulations applied to the pharmaceutical drug market.