bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
OPIATE MEDIATION OF AMENORRHOEA IN HYPERPROLACTINAEMIA AND IN WEIGHT‐LOSS RELATED AMENORRHOEA
Authors: GROSSMAN A. , MOULT P. J. A. , McINTYRE H. , EVANS J. , SILVERSTONE T. , REES LESLEY H. , BESSER G. M. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYEndogenous opiates are involved in the control of pituitary gonadotrophin and PRL secretion, and possibly of food intake. Both hyperprolactinaemia and weight loss (especially in anorexia nervosa) are frequently associated with amenorrhoea and an absence of gonadotrophin pulsatility. Since it has been suggested that increased endogenous opiate tone may operate in both conditions, we infused high‐doses of naloxone into twelve patients with amenorrhoea of whom five had hyperprolactinaemia and seven had weight‐loss related amenorrhoea. Eleven of the twelve patients had low levels of oestradiol (< 50 pmol/l). Naloxone induced a marked rise in both LH and FSH levels in all of the five hyperprolactinaemic patients. In contrast, the patients with weight‐loss amenorrhoea responded to naloxone with only a small or no rise in gonadotrophins. There was no consistent change in PRL in either group of patients. It is concluded that in hyperprolactinaemia, but not weight‐loss amenorrhoea, there is an important endogenous opiate‐mediated tonic inhibition of secretion of hypothalamic gonadotrophin releasing hormone.
THE DEFICIENT LUTEAL PHASE MAY REPRESENT AN ANOVULATORY CYCLE
Authors: COUTTS J. R. T. , ADAM A. H. , FLEMING R. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYThe luteinized unruptured follicle syndrome which has been observed in women at laparoscopy has been implicated as a contributory factor to female infertility. In this study estimation of progesterone indices during the luteal phase and ovarian ultrasonography throughout the cycle have shown a definite association between retained luteal phase cysts and the deficient luteal phase.
THE ROLE OF ANTENATAL OESTROGEN IN POST‐PARTUM HUMAN LACTOGENESIS: EVIDENCE FROM OESTROGEN‐DEFICIENT PREGNANCIES
Authors: MARTIN R. H. , OAKEY R. E. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYFive women with severe ante‐partum oestrogen deficiency (in four due to placental steroid sulphatase deficiency and in one due to an unknown cause) had low concentrations of PRL in peripheral plasma at delivery and in the puerperium. These women were unable to establish lactogenesis as assessed from plasma α‐lactalbumin concentrations on day 4 post‐partum. It is concluded that ante‐partum oestrogen is required both to ensure adequate PRL secretion and to permit lactogenesis in breast tissue in response to PRL. A review of patients’records in another nine cases of placental steroid sulphatase deficiency indicates that failure to establish breast feeding is a common feature.
RAPID COMMUNICATION: DIURNAL VARIATION OF SERUM IMMUNOREACTIVE ERYTHROPOIETIN IN A NORMAL SUBJECT
Authors: COTES P. MARY , BROZOVIC B. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYMarked diurnal variation in serum immunoreactive erythropoietin was seen in a healthy man both during a 4‐day control period and following acute loss of 450 g of blood by venesection. The highest concentrations of erythropoietin occurred around midnight and the lowest around noon. These findings emphasize the need to take account of diurnal changes in serum erythropoietin when assays for this hormone are used or assessed for their potential as diagnostic tools.
THE EFFECT OF ADRENERGIC AND CHOLINERGIC MECHANISMS ON THE SECRETION OF PANCREATIC POLYPEPTIDE AND GASTRIN FOLLOWING HYPOGLYCAEMIA IN MAN
Authors: FRIER B. M. , CORRALL R. J. M. , ADRIAN T. E. , BLOOM S. R. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYThe changes of plasma pancreatic polypeptide (PP) and plasma gastrin following acute insulin‐induced hypoglycaemia (0.15 U/kg) were examined in six normal subjects, six tetraplegic subjects (preganglionic sympathectomy) and six tetraplegic subjects given atropine (combined adrenergic denervation and cholinergic blockade).Adequate hypoglycaemia was achieved in all three groups. The normal rise of plasma PP following hypoglycaemia was present in the tetraplegic group without atropine but was abolished in the tetraplegic subjects given atropine. There was no significant rise in plasma gastrin following hypoglycaemia except in the tetraplegic group given atropine.These results confirm that the secretion of PP in response to acute hypoglycaemia is mediated via cholinergic activity, while gastrin secretion appears to be inhibited in normal subjects by a vagal cholinergic mechanism.
LIVER DAMAGE AND SEX HORMONES IN CHRONIC MALE ALCOHOLICS
Authors: VÄLIMÄKI M. , SALASPURO M. , HÄRKÖNEN M. , YLIKAHRI R. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYThe hormonal status of thirteen chronic male alcoholics with histologically proved alcoholic liver cirrhosis and that of sixteen non‐cirrhotic chronic alcoholics with a similar drinking history were studied after the abstinence of 7–14 days. Low levels of plasma testosterone and moderately elevated concentrations of plasma LH were seen in cirrhotics but not in non‐cirrhotics. In cirrhotics, testosterone values showed positive correlations with levels of serum albumin and plasma prothrombin. The responses of LH and FSH secretions to LHRH stimulation were similar in the two groups as were the basal FSH values. Plasma concentrations of oestradiol were within normal limits in all patients. In both groups however, basal levels of plasma PRL and oestrone were increased, significantly more so in cirrhotics than in non‐cirrhotics. The latter group was characterized by an exaggerated response of PRL secretion to TRH stimulation. SHBG concentrations were within normal range in both groups.In conclusion, our results emphasize the role of alcohol‐induced liver damage in the pathogenesis of sex hormone disturbances of chronic male alcoholics without neglecting, however, the direct effects of alcohol abuse itself.
PITUITARY‐OVARIAN FUNCTION BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE MENOPAUSE: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY
Authors: METCALF MARY G. , DONALD R. A. , LIVESEY J. H. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYThe excretion of FSH, LH, oestrogens and pregnanediol was monitored once weekly in urine samples collected from eight peri‐menopausal women aged 44–55 years (median, 52 years). Observations were commenced between 5 and 15 weeks before the menopause and were continued for 22–30 weeks after final menstruation. Amenorrhoea of > 2 years duration in association with a persistent elevation in gonadotrophin output was considered proof of the post‐menopausal state.No clear hormonal change occurred at the time of the menopause. During the peri‐menopause there is a transition from the regular ovulatory cycles of pre‐menopausal women to the unvarying high gonadotrophin and low oestrogen excretion which is generally regarded as being characteristic of post‐menopausal women. In the group studied, post‐menopausal levels of FSH and LH were common before and episodes of high oestrogen excretion were not uncommon after final menstruation. Menstrual failure appeared to occur spontaneously at some stage during the transition from the pre‐ to the post‐menopausal state, and not to be associated with its conclusion. From the hormonal point of view the immediately post‐menopausal period could not be distinguished from the long cycles of peri‐menopausal women. This suggests that an endometrial rather than a hormonal event might determine the time at which menstruation stops during the menopausal transition.
HYDROTESTOLACTONE LOWERS SERUM OESTRADIOL AND PRL LEVELS IN NORMAL MEN: EVIDENCE OF A ROLE OF OESTRADIOL IN PRL SECRETION*
Authors: D'AGATA R. , ALIFFI A. , MAUGERI G. , MONGIOI A. , VICARI E. , GULIZIA S. , POLOSA P. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYThe effect on serum PRL levels of lowering serum oestradiol (E2) concentration by short‐term administration of an aromatase activity inhibitor, hydrotestolactone (HT), was studied in six healthy male subjects. After HT administration serum E2 levels decreased from 68 ± 5±8 to 26 ± 2±5 pmol/1 (mean ± SE, P < 0±05). These E2 changes were accompanied by a significant decrease in mean 2‐h PRL levels from 11±2 ± 2±1 to 6±5 ± 1±6 ng/ml mean ± SE, P < 0±05). The evaluation of individual percentage change from basal concentrations showed a varying decrease in all subjects. These findings suggest that under physiological conditions E2 may be one of the factors which control blood PRL concentrations in men.
EFFECT OF CYPROTERONE ACETATE‐ETHINYL OESTRADIOL TREATMENT ON ADRENAL FUNCTION IN HIRSUTE WOMEN
Authors: CHAPMAN M. G. , And S. L. JEFFCOATE , DEWHURST C. J. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYPituitary adrenal suppression has been assessed in twenty‐two patients receiving cyproterone acetate (100 mg) and ethinyl oestradiol (30 μg) for the treatment of hirsutism. Cortisol responsiveness to ACTH and to insulin induced hypoglycaemia, and diurnal variations of plasma cortisol levels were measured before and after 6 months of treatment. There was no evidence that adrenal suppression is a significant problem in this group of patients.
LHRH ANALOGUES CAN BE LUTEOTROPHIC
Authors: And R. FLEMING , COUTTS J. R. T. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYSeven normally menstruating women were treated with consecutive daily supraoptimal doses of the LHRH analogue Hoe 766 initiated in the mid/late luteal phase. This treatment caused immediate increases in circulating levels of LH, FSH, oestradiol (E2) and progesterone. After a few days, the pituitary became unresponsive to Hoe 766 and LH and FSH levels returned to the normal luteal phase ranges while progesterone and E2 levels did not decline to their respective pre‐treatment levels until at least 24 h later. As a result of this treatment, the onset of the next menses was delayed in five of the seven women, indicating luteotrophism. These data show that the corpus luteum was responsive to increased LH/FSH during Hoe 766 therapy. Therefore, reported luteolytic effects of short‐term treatment with LHRH and/or its analogues were probably not caused by direct inhibitory ovarian action but by reduction of ensuing pituitary gonadotrophin levels.
BROMOCRIPTINE‐INDUCED PREGNANCIES IN WOMEN WITH LARGE PROLACTINOMAS
Authors: BERGH T. , NILLIUS S. J. , ENOKSSON P. , And S.‐G. LARSSON , WIDE L. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYFourteen women with large prolactinomas experienced a total of nineteen bromocriptine‐induced term pregnancies. None of the women had received prior pituitary tumour therapy. Post‐partum sellar X‐ray examinations showed signs of tumour enlargement in two women. Only one of them had clinical symptoms of tumour expansion with visual field defects during the pregnancy. The visual impairment improved when bromocriptine treatment was reinstituted and the pregnancy continued to term. The other twelve women had a total of seventeen uneventful pregnancies without symptoms or signs of pituitary tumour expansion. Thus, medical therapy with dopamine receptor agonists is the primary treatment for most infertile women with prolactinomas. The risk of serious pregnancy‐induced tumour expansion is very small in properly investigated and carefully supervised patients with large PRL‐secreting pituitary adenomas.
FAMILIAL THYROID PEROXIDASE DEFECT
Authors: MEDEIROS‐NETO GERALDO A. , OKAMURA KEN , CAVALIERE HUMBERTO , TAUROG ALVIN , KNOBEL MEYER , BISI HELIO , KALLAS WALLACE G. , MATTAR EMILIO 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYA congenitally goitrous, mentally retarded, hypothyroid child, whose parents were first cousins, was studied for the cause of a strongly positive (86–5%) perchlorate discharge test. The mother had a recidivant goitre after being thyroidectomized in 1971. Her perchlorate discharge test was negative, but she displayed an exaggerated TSH response to TRH administration. The father also showed a negative perchlorate discharge, but he had a large cold nodule in the left thyroid lobe. The father also presented with a retinitis pigmentosa, detected additionally in two of his brothers and three nephews.Thyroid tissue, obtained from the three patients at surgery, was assayed for thyroid peroxidase (TPO) by three different assays:

iodination of goitre thyroglobulin;
oxidation of guaiacol;
oxidation of iodide.

In a standard iodination assay (100 μM I−) and in a standard guaiacol assay 4–7 mM guaiacol) the TPO activity in the son's tissue was extremely low. Preincubation with haematin did not restore activity. The father displayed a normal TPO activity, but that of the mother was somewhat low. In the iodide oxidation assay employing 12 mM I− in the incubation system, and in iodination and guaiacol assays employing elevated concentrations of substrate, the TPO activity in the son's tissue was quite appreciable and was much closer to that of the parents. Presumably, therefore, the defect in the son's thyroid did not involve an absence of TPO. Rather, the results suggest a qualitative defect in the son's TPO, involving an abnormality in the binding of substrate for oxidation.Thyroglobulin was isolated from the thyroid soluble fraction by sucrose density gradient centrifugation and its protein and iodine content determined. Thyroglobulin from the son's thyroid tissue contained only 0–043% iodine, compared to 0–45% and 0–29% for mother and father, respectively. The very low iodine content of the son's thyroglobulin accords with the low thyroid peroxidase activity and with the clinical and laboratory findings.The fact that the parents in the present study are first cousins and that both showed some type of thyroid abnormality suggests that the severely affected son (goitre, mental retardation, and hypothyroidism) is homozygous for a recessive mutant gene.
REDUCED DOPAMINERGIC INHIBITION OF THYROTROPHIN RELEASE IN STATES OF PHYSIOLOGICAL HYPERPROLACTINAEMIA
Authors: RODRIGUEZ‐ARNAO MARIA D. , WEIGHTMAN D. R. , HALL REGINALD , SCANLON MAURICE F. , CAMPORRO J. M. , GOMEZ‐PAN A. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYWe have tested the hypothesis that physiological puerperal hyperprolactinaemia may be secondary to reduced hypothalamic dopaminergic inhibition of prolactin (PRL) release. Nine post‐partum females with physiological hyperprolactinaemia (aged 19–40 years; mean basal PRL±SE, 2099±257 mU/l, range 1002–3762 mU/l) were studied and results compared with fourteen normoprolactinaemic females (basal PRL<400 mU/l; aged 18–36 years). Puerperal hyperprolactinaemic females showed a reduced TSH response to dopamine (DA) receptor blockade with metoclopramide (10 mg i.v.) compared with normal females over a 60‐min period following drug administration (total incremental TSH change, mean ±SE, mU/l; 0.5±0.3 v. 3.1±1.0, P<0.005). This finding of reduced dopaminergic inhibition of TSH release in females with physiological puerperal hyperprolactinaemia supports the view that an overall reduction in hypothalamic dopaminergic tone may contribute towards hyperprolactinaemia in post‐partum women.
PULSATILE SECRETION OF LH, FSH, PROLACTIN, OESTRADIOL AND PROGESTERONE DURING THE HUMAN MENSTRUAL CYCLE
Authors: BÄCKSTRÖM C. T. , McNEILLY A. S. , LEASK R. M. , BAIRD D. T. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYThe pulsatile secretion of gonadotrophins and ovarian steroids was studied in normal women at different stages of the menstrual cycle. The concentration of LH, FSH, Prolactin (PRL), oestradiol and progesterone were measured in samples of plasma collected every 15 min for 6 h and the frequency and amplitude of each episodic pulse of hormone estimated. Although significant fluctuations occurred in the concentration of each hormone, LH showed the most easily identifiable pulses the frequency of which increased significantly from the early follicular to the late follicular phase of the cycle (3.4±0.3 v. 4.4±0.2 pulses 6 h P<0.01). During the luteal phase the basal concentration of LH (5.6±0.9 U/l), pulse amplitude (7.4±1.7 U/l) and frequency (1.6±0.2/6 h) were much lower than at any stage of the follicular phase (P<0.001). The concentration of FSH and PRL showed a similar but less marked change to that of LH throughout the menstrual cycle with a significant decline in both basal concentration and pulse frequency in the luteal phase of the cycle. Although only 47% of all LH pulses were associated with a pulse of FSH, 70% of FSH and prolactin pulses occurred within 15 min of an LH pulse.The basal concentration of oestradiol increased significantly from the early follicular to the late follicular phase of the cycle (P<0.001). There was evidence of episodic secretion of oestradiol with the frequency of pulses declining from a maximum of 4.3±0.6/6 h in the mid‐follicular phase to 1.8±0.5/6 h in the luteal phase (P<0.02). In the follicular phase 74–80% of LH pulses were followed within 100 min by a significant rise in the concentration of oestradiol. It is suggested that:

the secretion of LH, FSH, PRL, oestradiol and progesterone is episodic in nature;
a significant number of secretory episodes of FSH, LH and PRL are coincidental;
the increased secretion of oestradiol from the pre‐ovulatory follicle is associated with a rise in the frequency of episodic pulses of LH.
URINARY 6‐SULPHATOXY MELATONIN EXCRETION DURING THE HUMAN MENSTRUAL CYCLE
Authors: FELLENBERG A. J. , PHILLIPOU G. , SEAMARK R. F. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYThe excretion of 6‐sulphatoxy melatonin in urine has been shown to provide a reliable index of melatonin production in man. Daily measurements made in two healthy ovulating women showed that both the total amount excreted/day and the proportion excreted during the sleep period remained relatively constant for each subject throughout the menstrual cycle. These data do not support the view that there are changes in melatonin production which correlate with cyclical reproductive endocrine function in the human.
LACK OF DIFFERENCE IN GROWTH STIMULATING EFFECT BETWEEN WEEKLY SINGLE AND MULTIPLE HUMAN CHORIONIC GONADOTROPHIN ADMINISTRATION IN BOYS WITH DELAYED PUBERTY
Authors: van den BOSCH J. S. G. , SMALS A. G. H. , VALK I. M. , KLOPPENBORG P. W. C. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYUsing a non‐invasive sensitive technique measuring ulnar length, short‐term growth was studied in two groups of boys with constitutional delay in growth. In one (group A) a protocol of multiple hCG injections weekly was used (3 × 1500 iu), whereas the other (group B) received a single dose of hCG weekly (1 × 1500 iu), both during 6 weeks. The two hCG protocols appeared to be equally potent in stimulating 3‐week Ulnar Growth rates (TUG‐rates), tripling the growth velocities from prepubertal to pubertal levels. After stopping hCG treatment the mean TUG‐rate decreased again to a post‐treatment level that, taking both groups together, was significantly higher than the mean pretreatment TUG‐rate. During hCG administration mean body growth rates also rose significantly in the two groups. The extent of the changes, however, only allowed evaluation for the whole group in contrast to the changes in TUG‐rates which far exceeded the limits of confidence in all but one boy. Serum alkaline phosphatase activities (APA) increased significantly during hCG treatment and almost paralleled the increase in TUG‐rates. The APA response (ΔAPA) in group A, however, was unexpectedly higher than in group B. After stopping hCG treatment the mean APA significantly decreased taking both groups together to an almost pretreatment level. The results showed that a weekly single dose hCG regimen was as effective as the weekly multiple injection protocol in stimulating TUG‐rates to pubertal levels in the groups of constitutionally delayed boys studied.
THYROTOXICOSIS AND DYSPNOEA
Authors: AYRES J. , REES J. , CLARK T. J. H. , MAISEY M. N. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYShortness of breath is a common symptom in thyrotoxicosis and it may have a number of causes. We have studied dyspnoea, skeletal muscle power and respiratory muscle power in eleven patients who had thyrotoxicosis with no evidence of heart failure.Four patients (36·4%) had a marked improvement with treatment in the maximal inspiratory pressure developed at the mouth. All four were breathless and had a proximal myopathy before treatment. This confirms the existence of a group of thyrotoxic patients with a reversible respiratory muscle myopathy which may explain the frequent finding of breathlessness on exertion in such patients.
HYPOTHALAMIC–PITUITARY–ADRENOCORTICAL FUNCTION IN CHRONIC ALCOHOLISM
Authors: HASSELBALCH H. , SELMER J. , SESTOFT L. , KEHLET H. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYHypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) function was assessed during normal daily work and family life in fifteen male brewery workers with a daily alcohol intake of 100 g or more for at least 10 years. Free urinary cortisol was determined during three baseline days and for 3 days during administration of dexamethasone 0·5 mg 6‐hourly. All subjects had normal basal urinary cortisol excretion and all except one suppressed normally upon dexame our subjects had Cushingoid‐like moon face and two of these also alo hump. There was no correlation between free urinary cortisol or dexamethasone suppression and the Cushingoid stigmata. These results suggest that chronic alcohol intake per se does not influence HPA‐function.
24‐HOUR PROFILES OF MELATONIN, CORTISOL, INSULIN, C‐PEPTIDE AND GIP FOLLOWING A MEAL AND SUBSEQUENT FASTING
Authors: ARENDT J. , HAMPTON S. , ENGLISH J. , KWASOWSKI P. , MARKS V. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYMelatonin, free and total cortisol, insulin, C‐peptide and glucose‐dependent insulin‐releasing peptide (GIP) were measured in the plasma of twelve normal volunteers (eight women and four men), at hourly intervals for 24 h following a meal and subsequent fasting. One volunteer was excluded from calculations due to a possible effect of stress on melatonin secretion. Melatonin and cortisol showed the normal 24‐h variation with peak values at 0200–0500 h, and 0900 h respectively. Following post‐prandial stimulation, gut hormones remained basal throughout the sampling period. No significant relationship was found between 24‐h melatonin secretion and basal, or stimulated gut hormone secretion. Melatonin secretion did relate significantly to body weight, suggesting that data concerning pineal effects in endocrine physiology and pathology, and effective disease, should be reviewed in the light of these observations.
FAILURE OF POSITIVE FEEDBACK OF OESTRADIOL DURING CHRONIC INTRANASAL LUTEINIZING HORMONE‐RELEASING HORMONE AGONIST TREATMENT
Authors: BERGQUIST C. , NILLIUS S. J. , WIDE L. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYAn oestrogen provocation test was performed in five healthy women during chronic intranasal treatment with 400 or 600 μg of the superactive LHRH agonist D‐Ser(TBU)6‐EA10‐LHRH daily. Oestradiol benzoate 2±5 mg was administered intramuscularly after at least 3 months of LHRH agonist treatment. The serum levels of FSH and LH were not affected by the oestrogen injection. Failure of positive feedback of oestradiol may be one explanation for the inhibition of ovulation which occurs during chronic LHRH agonist treatment.
PULSATILE GONADOTROPHIN SECRETION IN HYPERPROLACTINAEMIC AMENORRHOEA AND THE RESPONSE TO BROMOCRIPTINE THERAPY
Authors: MOULT P. J. A. , REES LESLEY H. , BESSER G. M. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYSerum gonadotrophin concentrations were measured every 15 min for 8 h in six patients before and at weekly intervals during initiation of bromocriptine treatment of hyperprolactinaemic amenorrhoea. Before treatment mean gonadotrophin levels were similar to those found in the normal follicular phase, but LH secretion was characterized by infrequent pulses of large amplitude. In three subjects the patterns of LH pulsatility and serum oestradiol levels returned to normal within 7 days of starting bromocriptine. The other three subjects responded with an increase in the frequency of LH pulses and mean LH levels, but little rise in oestradiol. Thus some hyperprolactinaemic subjects have a defect in the ovarian response to endogenous gonadotrophin stimulation, which may persist for a few weeks after return of prolactin levels to normal. The restoration of a normal rate of LH pulsatility with bromocriptine can occur without any change in serum oestradiol concentration.