A substance used to measure glomerular filtration rate (GFR) should ideally be one that is physiologically inert, completely filtrable, and neither absorbed nor excreted by the renal tubules (Smith, 1951). Inulin, a fructose polymer prepared from biological sources, has, for many years, been the compound thought best to meet these criteria. The absence of tubular transfer of inulin has been recently confirmed by micropuncture studies in rats which demonstrated that the distal recovery was complete when inulin was infused into the corresponding proximal segment (Marsh and Frasier, 1965). For the routine clinical estimation of GFR, however, inulin clearances have not been widely employed, largely because the chemical determination of inulin requires meticulous laboratory techniques and considerable time. Even then, the standard deviation of determinations on the same sample approximates 5 per cent (Wesson, 1957). In the presence of elevated plasma or urine glucose concentrations, further procedures are needed in order to eliminate interference with the colorimetric reaction. During an investigation of the renal handling of a new contrast medium, iothalamate (Conray), we noted that tracer amounts of the 131 I form were excreted solely by glomerular nitration when given either alone or with pyelographic dosages of stable carrier (Sigman, Elwood, Reagan, Morris and Catanzaro, 1965). This observation prompted a study of the value of the 125 I form of iothalamate for the measurement of GFR in man.
METHODSClearances were performed by the constant infusion technique (Smith, 1956). The specific activity of 125 I-sodium iothalamate* (Conray) utilised in this study was approximately 60 /xc/mg. From 50 to 100 jiic of this labelled compound were added to the total amount of inulin required for the study. The mixture was then separated into priming and sustaining solutions. A priming dosage of 125 I-iothalamate * 125 I-sodium iothalamate (Conray) was prepared and supplied by Dr. Howard J. Glenn, of Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, Illinois. of 0-5 /-ic/kg of body weight and a sustaining dosage in /xc/minute calculated from the estimated GFR in ml./minute X 0-0025 produces a plasma activity level of approximately 500 net cpm/ml. Inulin was determined by the resorcinol method (Schreiner, 1950). The activity of 125 I-iothalamate was measured to a statistical accuracy of 1 per cent or better in a well-type scintillation counter containing a singlechannel pulse-height analyser.Ten patients were selected for study in order that all levels of GFR would be represented. In these, simultaneous inulin and 125 I-iothalamate clearances were performed. In two additional patients, the clearances of 125 I-iothalamate were compared to those of 131 I-iothalamate. In all patients, diuresis was intiated by an oral water load of 1,000 c.c. and sustained by the intravenous infusion of lactated Ringer's solution at the rate of 500 ml./hour. Urine samples were collected from an indwelling Foley catheter. After a one-hour equilibration period, four...