bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
PLASMA UNCONJUGATED OESTRIOL AND UNCONJUGATED OESTRADIOL‐17β IN LATE PREGNANCY: INDIVIDUAL FLUCTUATION OF CONCENTRATIONS FROM DAY TO DAY AND EVERY 10 MINUTES
Authors: HULL M. G. R. , MONRO P. P. , MORGAN R. J. M. , MURRAY M. A. F. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYPlasma unconjugated oestriol (E3) and unconjugated oestradiol‐17β (E2) were determined by radioimmunoassay. In ten normal women in their last month of pregnancy the individual fluctuation of E3 concentrations (mean of the coefficients of variation, CV) from day to day (over 5 days) was 15.6% (range 6.4–26.2%). The individual fluctuation of E2 determined in eight of these women was 16.9 (10.4–25.5) %. In six of the same women who had blood samples collected every 10 min (for 3 h) the individual fluctuation of E3 concentrations was 13.8 (7.0–25.1) %, and of E2 was 16.1 (11.3–26.0) %. The degree of fluctuation of E3 in individuals was in proportion to the mean concentration, unlike E2, suggesting that in clinical practice individual changes in E3 values would be as easy to interpret at low levels as at high levels. The finding that concentrations of plasma unconjugated E3 fluctuate in individuals no more than for E2 or than reported for total E3, and less than reported for 24‐h urinary oestrogens, lends practical support to the theoretical preference for the assay of plasma unconjugated E3 to assess feto‐placental function.
THE DIAGNOSTIC VALUE OF PHARMACODYNAMIC TESTS IN THE HYPERPROLACTINAEMIC SYNDROME
Authors: AYALON D. , PERSITZ E. , RAVID R. , JEDWAB G. , AVIDAN S. , CORDOVA T. , HARELL A. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYPatterns of prolactin (PRL) secretion were studied in a group of 18 hyperprolactinaemic patients with galactorrhoea and menstrual disorders and in a control group of thrty‐two women in the early puerperium (24 h after a normal delivery) following provocative (TRH and Chlorpromazine) and suppressive (L‐Dopa and bromocriptine) stimuli. Five out of the eighteen hyperprolactinaemic patients tested had radiological evidence of a pituitary tumour, and two were treated surgically. The early puerperium patients with elevated basal PRL levels (100–700 ng/ml) demonstrated a significant PRL response to the various treatments. On the other hand, in the hyperprolactinaemic group, an impaired PRL response to TRH, Chlorpromazine and L‐Dopa was noted in patients with basal PRL levels higher than 30 ng/ml, whereas bromocriptine suppressed effectively PRL levels in all the hyperprolactinaemic patients tested irrespective of their basal PRL concentrations. The ratio between the fall in PRL concentrations (as percent of the baseline) after L‐Dopa administration (Δ%L) versus the PRL decrement after bromocriptine treatment (Δ%B) was calculated. In the early puerperium group with normal pituitary prolactin secreting cells this ratio was equal to 0.8. In the hyperprolactinaemic group, the five patients with radiological evidence of a pituitary tumour had significantly lower ratios ranging from 0.2 to 0.57. These data suggest that in terms of prolactin release, prolactin producing tumour cells are intrinsically refractory to hypothalamic dopaminergic signals. The calculation of individual Δ%L/Δ%B ratios may serve, therefore, as a valuable indicator for early detection of autonomous pituitary prolactin secreting cells and for evaluation of the extent of the pituitary lesion.
HYPERPROLACTINAEMIA AND HYPOGONADISM IN MEN: RESPONSE TO EXOGENOUS GONADOTROPHINS
Authors: LUBOSHITZKY R. , ROSEN E. , TRESTIAN S. , SPITZ I. M. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYThree male patients with pituitary tumours and marked hyperprolactinaemia were investigated. Their prolactin (PRL) levels ranged from 210 to 2500 ng/ml. The subjects had clinical and laboratory characteristics of hypogonadotrophic hypo‐gonadism. All were treated with human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) and in one subject human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG) was given in addition. In all three patients, despite the persistence of hyperprolactinaemia, serum testosterone had risen to normal levels within 4–17 days after starting HCG. Despite the normal testosterone level, impotence persisted in two patients and the third had persistently decreased libido. The hypogonadism in these patients may be related to an absolute reduction in gonadotroph number secondary to destruction by tumour mass. Alternatively, hyperprolactinaemia may inhibit the synthesis or release of the gonado‐trophins or LHRH. Despite hyperprolactinaemia, pharmacological doses of HCG induced testosterone secretion in all these three subjects.
CHRONIC DIPHENYLHYDANTOIN THERAPY DOES NOT REDUCE PLASMA 25‐HYDROXY‐VITAMIN D
Authors: WARK J. D. , LARKINS R. G. , PERRY‐KEENE D. , PETER C. T. , ROSS D. L. , SLOMAN J. G. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYA randomized controlled study was performed to investigate the effect of 2 years’monitored diphenylhydantoin (DPH) therapy on plasma 25‐hydroxyvitamin D (25‐OHD) in nonepileptic, non‐institutionalized subjects. Mean ± SEM plasma 25‐OHD of 18 DPH‐treated subjects at the end of 2 years’drug treatment was 59 ± 8 nmol/l (23.6 ± 3.2 ng/ml), which was not decreased compared to that of eighteen control subjects (54±8 nmol/l, 21.6±3.2 ng/ml). In addition, mean plasma 25‐OHD had not changed 1 month after ceasing DPH. The treated group had a higher mean serum alkaline phosphatase (SAP) during DPH treatment, attributable to hepatic enzyme induction. It is concluded that therapeutic doses of DPH without other anticonvulsants do not have a clinically significant effect on plasma 25‐OHD.
TREATMENT OF CUSHING'S DISEASE IN JUVENILES WITH INTERSTITIAL PITUITARY IRRADIATION
Authors: CASSAR J. , DOYLE F. H. , MASHITER K. , JOPLIN G. F. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYNine juvenile patients (five boys and four girls aged 10–18) with Cushing's disease were treated with pituitary implantation of 198 Au and/or 90Y. No patient had any surgical complication from the procedure. At the latest assessment, 3 months to 17 years after operation, Cushing's disease was in remission in all the patients; the response time following operation was a few days to 3 months. Radiology of the pituitary fossa at time of pituitary implantation was normal in all patients and remains so. The final height in six patients is 149–172 cm (59–67.5 inches) and three patients who continue to grow have increased by 13, 6 and 3 cm since implantation. Only one patient required full pituitary hormone replacement therapy, and he had been previously treated by external irradiation, and one other patient failed to complete puberty. In all the other seven sexual maturation is normal and one has fathered two children. We conclude that pituitary implantation with interstitial irradiation is a satisfactory form of treatment for Cushing's disease in juveniles.
EVALUATION OF RESECTION OF PITUITARY MICROADENOMA FOR THE TREATMENT OF CUSHING'S DISEASE IN PATIENTS WITH RADIOLOGICALLY NORMAL SELLA TURCICA
Authors: WAJCHENBERG B. L. , SILVEIRA A. A. , GOLDMAN J. , CESAR F. P. , MARINO R. , LIMA S. S. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYSi.: patients with Cushing's disease and a radiologically normal sella turcica have been treated by transsphenoidal hypophysectomy. Microadenomas were found and removed in five. One patient was in complete remission by 2 months and three by 6 months post‐operatively. Two of the remaining patients (one with and the other without a surgically demonstrable tumour) were not cured after 8 and 15 months follow‐up, respectively. Our data suggest that pituitary tumours are present in the majority of patients with Cushing's disease. The possibilities of incomplete adenomectomy or of a tumour buried within the gland should be considered in patients in whom pituitary surgery does not induce remission. In one patient, subsequently proven to have a pituitary adenoma, the disease remitted pre‐operatively with cyproheptadine, suggesting hypothalamic regulation of the tumour and/or direct drug action at the pituitary level.
EFFECTS OF LONG‐TERM TREATMENT WITH METERGOLINE IN PATIENTS WITH IDIOPATHIC OLIGOSPERMIA
Authors: MASALA A. , DELITALA G. , ALAGNA S. , DEVILLA L. , ROVASIO P.P. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYThe effect of metergoline, an ergoline derivative with antiserotonin as well as dopaminergic properties, was studied in forty‐five male patients with idiopathic oligospermia. Metergoline treatment (6 mg daily for 5 months) had no demonstrable effect on spermatogenesis; moreover, it did not influence the serum levels of LH, FSH, testosterone and oestradiol although it significantly reduced prolactin levels. It is concluded that, in all likelihood, serotonin plays little or no part in the pathogenesis of idiopathic oligospermia and that pharmacological reduction of normal prolactin levels has no therapeutic effect on this disease.
IMMUNOREACTIVE SOMATOMEDIN B IN ACROMEGALY AND IN TURNER'S SYNDROME
Authors: BENKER G. , SPIRA G. , ZÄH W. , THARANDT L. , HACKENBERG K. , REINWEIN D. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYSerum somatomedin B was measured by radioimmunoassay in forty‐seven normal subjects, twenty‐nine patients with acromegaly before and twenty‐four after treatment, and eighteen patients with Turner's syndrome. Somatomedin B levels were significantly elevated in untreated acromegaly and in Turner's syndrome compared with the control group; they decreased following treatment of acromegaly. Because of the overlap between the groups, little information could be obtained from single somatomedin B estimations, which could, therefore, not replace dynamic tests of growth hormone secretion. No correlation between growth hormone and somatomedin B in acromegaly was detected; however, somatomedin B appeared to be related to the insulin response during the oral glucose tolerance test. In Turner's syndrome, no relationship between somatomedin B and insulin production, urinary oestrogen excretion, growth hormone secretion, gonadotrophin levels, age or height was found. The reason for the raised somatomedin B levels in Turner's syndrome remains at present unknown.
CHRONIC DOPAMINE RECEPTOR STIMULATION USING BROMOCRIPTINE: FAILURE TO MODIFY THYROID FUNCTION
Authors: KÖBBERLING J. , DARRAGH A. , POZO E. DEL 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYAdministration of 2.5 mg bromocriptine (Parlodel), a dopamine agonist, on two occasions to six normal volunteers did not alter the plasma TSH response to an i.v. injection of 100 μg TRH, but significantly (P < 0.01) blunted it after 200 μg. Chronic bromocriptine treatment (7.5–50 mg/day) of fifteen acromegalic subjects failed to influence basal plasma TSH or the response pattern to 200 μg TRH. The thyroxine Binding Index (TBI) and the levels of T3 and T4 were not modified by treatment. These results indicate that chronic dopaminergic therapy with bromocriptine does not alter thyroid function.
SERUM THYROGLOBULIN IN NORMAL SUBJECTS AND PATIENTS WITH HYPERTHYROIDISM DUE TO GRAVES’DISEASE: EFFECTS OF T3, IODIDE, 131 I AND ANTITHYROID DRUGS
Authors: GARDNER D. F. , ROTHMAN J. , UTIGER R. D. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYA sensitive, reproducible radioimmunoassay for thyroglobulin (Tg) in unextracted human serum is described. The mean (± SD) serum thyroglobulin concentration in ninety‐three normal subjects was 8±8 ± 5±1 ng/ml. The mean serum Tg concentration in forty‐seven patients with hyperthyroidism due to Graves’disease was 162 ± 145 ng/ml, and in nine patients with subacute thyroiditis 140 ± 75 ng/ml. The administration of T3, 75 /μg daily for 3 weeks to normal subjects, produced parallel and significant decreases in both serum Tg and T4 concentrations. Administration of iodide to normal subjects for 13 days resulted in significant increases in serum Tg concentrations, associated with increases in serum TSH and decreases in serum T4 concentrations. In patients with hyperthyroidism due to Graves’disease, iodide administration had no effect on serum Tg concentrations in five of six patients studied, though all had a reduction in serum T4 and T3. Administration of radioactive iodine, with or without iodide, to hyperthyroid patients resulted in acute increases in serum Tg concentrations in all patients. In patients with hyperthyroidism due to Graves’disease treated with antithyroid drugs, serum Tg concentrations were initially lower (mean 109 ng/ml) and declined to or towards normal during therapy in those who subsequently achieved remission. Initial serum Tg concentrations were higher (mean 207 ng/ml) and serum Tg concentrations did not change in the patients who developed recurrent hyperthyroidism when antithyroid drug therapy was decreased or discontinued. These data suggest that: (1) Tg release by the thyroid is normally under TSH control; (2) iodide inhibits thyroidal T4 and T3 release without affecting Tg secretion; (3) thyroidal injury results in marked increases in serum Tg concentrations; and (4) initial and/or serial Tg determinations may be useful in predicting remission in patients with hyperthyroidism due to Graves’disease treated with antithyroid drugs.
PROLACTIN RELEASE BY INTRAVENOUS CIMETIDINE IN MAN: EVIDENCE FOR A SUPRAPITUITARY LOCUS OF ACTION
Authors: FERRARI C. , CALDARA R. , BARBIERI C. , CAMBIELLI M. , BIERTI L. , ROMUSSI M. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYIn an attempt to identify the sites at which cimetidine stimulates prolactin release, the drug was administered intravenously (6 mg/kg body weight) to healthy subjects under basal conditions, during dopamine infusion (1/μg/Kg‐min for 120 min) and after pretreatment with L‐dopa plus carbidopa (250 plus 25 mg every 6 h for 1 day). The serum prolactin response to cimetidine was abolished by dopamine infusion and almost completely suppressed by L‐dopa plus carbidopa administration. These findings suggest that the drug acts on the central nervous system to stimulate prolactin release. Although the mechanism of this action is unclear, it does not seem to depend on an antidopaminergic effect and may be related to blockade of brain H2 histamine receptors.
AN‘ARTIFICIAL BETA CELL’FOR CONTROL OF DIABETES MELLITUS: EFFECT ON PLASMA GLUCAGON LEVELS
Authors: HORWITZ D. L. , GONEN B. , JASPAN J. B. , LANGER B. G. , RODMAN D. , ZEIDLER A. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYWe have investigated the use of a glucose‐controlled insulin infusion system, or artificial beta cell. On the feedback day, mean plasma glucose was significantly effect of improved control on plasma glucagon levels. Five insulin‐requiring diabetic subjects in stable control were hospitalized for two 24 h periods. During one, they were given their usual dose(s) of subcutaneous insulin. In the other, the‘feedback’day, insulin administration was under feedback control by the artificial beta cell. On the feedback day, mean plasma glucose was significantly‐lower in all subjects. Variability in plasma glucose throughout the day was also significantly less on the feedback day. All five subjects showed a significant fall in serum immunoreactive glucagon levels on the feedback day, suggesting that the glucagon abnormalities of diabetes may be secondary to the insulin deficiency, rather than a second primary defect of diabetes.
COMPARISON OF SINGLE AND REPEATED APPLICATIONS OF A LONG‐ACTING SYNTHETIC ANALOGUE OF LHRH [D‐SER (TBU)6 EA10 LHRH] IN THE ASSESSMENT OF PITUITARY GONADOTROPHIN SECRETORY CAPACITY
Authors: WILLIAMS C. A. VAUGHAN , McNEILLY A. S. , BAIRD D. T. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYA long‐acting synthetic analogue of LHRH [D‐Ser (TBU)6 EA10 LHRH] was administered intramuscularly to thirteen normal women in the early‐to‐mid follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Six women received a single injection of 5 μg of analogue and seven received 10 μg of the analogue, followed by 20 and 10 μg at 10 and 24 h after the first injection, respectively. The concentrations of LH, FSH and oestradiol in plasma were measured before, and at intervals up to 72 h after treatment. In the group receiving 5 μg of analogue the concentrations of both LH and FSH rose rapidly to a peak value five times the pre‐injection value, 5 h after injection. The concentrations of both gonadotrophins remained elevated for 10 h, but 24 h after injection had returned to control values. The concentration of oestradiol rose progressively to reach a peak value 7 h after injection. In the second group of women, receiving three injections of analogue, there was a rapid twelvefold increase in the concentration of LH in plasma within 4 h of the initial injection, and plasma concentrations remained elevated for 10 h. The concentration of FSH rose progressively to a peak value, five times the pretreatment value, 5 h after the initial injection and was still elevated after 10 h. The concentrations of both gonadotrophins remained elevated above pretreatment values for at least 34 h after the start of treatment. The concentration of oestradiol rose gradually to a peak value 7 h after the initiation of treatment and remained elevated for 34 h. These results indicate that a single injection of the LHRH analogue is effective in demonstrating pituitary secretory activity, but repeated applications are required to induce and maintain a rise in plasma LH similar in magnitude and duration to the pre‐ovulatory, mid‐cycle surge. This analogue of LHRH provides a simple means of evaluation of the secretory capacity of the anterior pituitary.
STUDIES OF CIRCULATING PARATHYROID HORMONE IN MAN USING A HOMOLOGOUS AMINO‐TERMINAL SPECIFIC IMMUNORADIOMETRIC ASSAY
Authors: PAPAPOULOS S. E. , MANNING R. M. , HENDY G. N. , LEWIN I. G. , O'RIORDAN J. L. H. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYCirculating immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (PTH) was measured by a homologous, amino‐terminal, specific, immunoradiometric assay in man. In forty‐two healthy subjects the concentrations ranged between < 40 pg/ml and 120 pg/ml. No hormone could be detected in the sera of eleven patients with hypoparathyroidism, but the concentrations were clearly elevated in six patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism (range 190–1120 pg/ml). In thirty‐five patients with primary hyperparathyroidism the mean (±SEM) concentration was 283·4±42·4 pg/ml (range 100–1350 pg/ml). A significant positive correlation was demonstrated between immunoassayable hormone and serum calcium concentrations in these patients. In nine patients PTH concentrations were measured before and after parathyroidectomy. In all of them they were elevated pre‐operatively but fell to the normal range after parathyroidectomy. The disappearance of exogenously administered synthetic human PTH (1–34) from the circulation of two normal subjects was rapid with an apparent plasma half‐disappearance time (t½) between 2 and 3 min; the metabolic clearance rate was 12·9 and 9·0 ml. kg‐1, min‐1 respectively. Similarly, the disappearance of endogenous, amino‐terminal, immunoreactive PTH from the circulation of two patients with primary hyperparathyroidism after parathyroidectomy was rapid; the apparent t½ was approximately 3 min. Homologous amino‐terminal specific immunoassays for PTH can thus be useful for the study of both the acute, and chronic, changes of circulating hormone in man and represent an improvement over heterologous unselected assay systems.
TSH RESPONSES TO TEMPERATURE IN PRIMARY HYPOTHYROIDISM
Authors: O'MALLEY B. P. , DAVIES T. J. , ROSENTHAL F. D. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYWe have studied the serum TSH responses to alterations in body temperature by heating twelve patients with primary hypothyroidism for 48 h and determining the initial and final TSH levels. In four control patients, we estimated the TSH responses to rest and exercise. In a group of three patients, the TSH levels were recorded at frequent intervals over a 48 h period, during which they were rested and subsequently warmed. Our results show that in the twelve patients initially investigated, there was a significant fall in TSH. In the smaller group of three patients studied more intensively, TSH levels were inversely related to cutaneous and core temperature. In primary hypothyroidism alterations in body temperature influence the levels of circulating TSH.
PLASMA DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE SULPHATE IN HYPOTHYROID PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN
Authors: BASSI F. , PUPI A. , GIANNOTTI P. , FIORELLI G. , FORTI G. , PINCHERA A. , SERIO M. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYPlasma dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), cortisol (F) and prolactin (PRL) were measured in seventeen premenopausal women with primary hypothyroidism and in fifteen normal premenopausal women. Significantly lower (P < 0·001) DHEAS levels were found in hypothyroid women while F and PRL were in the range of normal controls. No significant relation was found between DHEAS and total thyroxine (T4) and TSH. Our results support the hypothesis that DHEAS secretion is impaired in some women with primary hypothyroidism.
STEROIDS IN OVARIAN AND PERIPHERAL VENOUS BLOOD IN POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN DISEASE
Authors: LAATIKAINEN T. J. , APTER D. L. , PAAVONEN J. A. , WAHLSTRÖM T. R. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYOvarian and peripheral venous blood samples were collected at operation in six patients with polycystic ovaries (PCO) and seven control subjects with normal ovarian function in the follicular phase of the cycle. Plasma concentrations of unconjugated testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), androsterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), pregnenolone, progesterone, 17α‐hydroxyprogesterone (17α‐OH‐P) and oestradiol were determined by specific radioimmunoassay techniques, and concentrations of DHEA, androsterone and pregnenolone sulphates by gas chromatography. In the control group, ovarian vein concentrations of all unconjugated steroids, except progesterone, were significantly higher than the corresponding peripheral vein concentrations, suggesting ovarian secretion. No significant differences were demonstrated between ovarian and peripheral plasma levels of steroid sulphates. Ovarian vein levels of androstenedione, testosterone and DHEA were markedly elevated in PCO patients compared with the control group, and the levels of DHT and androsterone to a lesser degree. Polycystic ovaries appear to secrete androsterone sulphate, but no significant secretion of DHEA sulphate could be demonstrated. Ovarian venous levels of oestradiol in the PCO group did not differ from those in the control group. Elevated ovarian venous androgen levels in the PCO group seemed to correlate with thecal cell hyperplasia as indicated by histological examination of ovarian biopsies. In one PCO patient, blood levels of different steroids were followed for a month after ovarian wedge resection. Testosterone fell to half the pre‐operative value and a temporary fall was also noticed in other androgens. A marked rise in plasma progesterone concentration at the end of the follow‐up period suggested that ovulation had occurred.
THE EFFECT OF OESTROGENS ON HUMAN CALCITONIN SECRETION AFTER CALCIUM INFUSION IN ELDERLY FEMALE SUBJECTS
Authors: MORIMOTO S. , TSUJI M. , OKADA Y. , ONISHI T. , KUMAHARA Y. 
Published: March 2008

SUMMARYThe effect of oestrogen administration (4–6 weeks) on the response of human calcitonin (hCT) secretion to 5 min calcium infusions was studied in ten elderly women. There was no significant difference in mean basal plasma hCT levels before and after oestrogen administration. However, the mean increment in plasma hCT in response to calcium infusion (ΔhCT) increased significantly (P < 0·001) from 21·9±6·6 (mean ±SE) before treatment, to 79·6±15·5 ng/l after oestrogen administration. Mean serum calcium levels decreased significantly (P < 0·001) from 2·42 ±0·06 before to 2·19·0±07 mmol/l after oestrogen treatment. Mean plasma immunoreactive PTH (iPTH) levels increased significantly (P < 0·05) from 521·41 before to 696·96 ng/l after oestrogen treatment. To exclude out the possibility that the decreased serum calcium level itself might have influenced ΔhCT, 1α‐hydroxycholecalciferol (1α‐OH‐D3) was administered with oestrogens. While this resulted in a slight increase in serum calcium level, there was no significant difference in ΔhCT in response to calcium infusion following oestrogen treatment alone, and after combination therapy of oestrogen and 1 α‐OH‐D3. The primary action of administered oestrogen may be in stimulating hCT secretion which results in a decrease in plasma calcium concentration and an increase in plasma iPTH level.