Obituary: Professor James Boyer Brown(Measurements of the oestrogens seemed to...),Health

His aim was to develop a chemical method for measuring the oestrogens in the urine and was given a position in the newly established Clinical Endocrinology Research Unit in Edinburgh, later to be appointed its Assistant Director. Notwithstanding Marrian's attempts at dissuading him from this project, Brown persisted and the essential problems were solved within a few months but a fully validated method was not published until 1955. This published paper has been cited over 1000 times and was awarded a full Citation Classic by the Institute for Scientific Information.

Using this new method of measurement, Brown confirmed the elegant patterns of oestrogen production throughout the menstrual cycle which had been shown previously using labour intensive bioassays. This work led to a PhD and The Lancet requested the privilege of publishing the results obtained during the menstrual cycle, conception, pregnancy, lactation and return to fertility. His method was the "gold standard" for measuring these hormones for almost 20 years until superseded by radioimmunoassays on blood. He also collaborated with Arnold Klopper in developing a urinary preganediol assay in non-pregnant women which was awarded a half Citation Classic.

Possibly one of the greatest contributions made by Brown in his early days in Edinburgh was the use of human gonadotrophin for the induction of ovulation. Working with colleagues there they purified these hormones and later developed the International Standard Reference Preparation facilitating their widespread usage. The Edinburgh unit was the second in the world to use human gonadotrophins for ovulation induction in humans but Brown, later working in Melbourne, would properly rationalise their usage.

In 196
'/>"/>