title: Reference intervals for urinary catecholamines and metabolites from birth to adulthood.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish reference intervals for urinary excretion of biogenic amines from birth to adulthood.
  
  
  METHODS
  865 outpatients were categorized into nine groups ranging from birthday to 25 years. Free catecholamines, total metanephrines, vanillylmandelic and homovanillic acids were determined in urine samples by HPLC with amperometric detection.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ratio of each analyte-to-creatinine declined gradually from birth to 15-18 years reaching adults values. No difference was observed by sex except a lower excretion of epinephrine and metanephrine in girls than in boys below 1 year.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data provide age-appropriate reference ranges for the diagnosis of tumors from neural crest in children.
authors.affiliation: Service de Génétique Moléculaire, Pharmacogénétique et Hormonologie, Hôpital de Bicêtre, 78 rue du Général Leclerc, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France. eric.pussard@bct.aphp.fr
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pussard
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Neveux
authors.forename: Nelly
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Guigueno
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000592:standards / Q000652:urine; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004298:Dopamine / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D006719:Homovanillic Acid / Q000652:urine; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008676:Metanephrine / Q000652:urine; D009647:Normetanephrine / Q000652:urine; D012016:Reference Values; D012737:Sex Factors; D014642:Vanilmandelic Acid / Q000652:urine
chemical_list: D002395:Catecholamines; D009647:Normetanephrine; D008676:Metanephrine; D014642:Vanilmandelic Acid; D004298:Dopamine; D006719:Homovanillic Acid