Metanephrines

The metanephrines are a group of molecules consisting of metanephrine and normetanephrine.

Noradrenaline breakdown, with normetanephrine visible at upper left.

An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 2002, indicated that the measurement of plasma free levels of metanephrines is the best tool in the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma, an adrenal medullary neoplasm.[1]

References
  1. Lenders J, Pacak K, Walther M, Linehan W, Mannelli M, Friberg P, Keiser H, Goldstein D, Eisenhofer G (2002). "Biochemical diagnosis of pheochromocytoma: which test is best?". JAMA. 287 (11): 1427–34. doi:10.1001/jama.287.11.1427. PMID 11903030. Free full text with registration
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