Action of some pesticides on T4 to T3 conversion in cultured kidney and liver cells in the presence or absence of cysteine.

The influence of aminotriazole (ATA), atrazine (ATZ), prometryne (P) and ATC on T4 to T3 conversion in kidney and liver cell cultures in the presence or absence of cysteine was studied. The experiment was carried out on cell cultures (rat renal cells and human embryo cells) and organotypic cultures (rat liver cells), treated with the above mentioned pesticides in 2 doses each, in the presence of 1 microgram and 10 micrograms T4 in the culture medium. This experiment was reproduced in the same conditions supplementing the culture medium with 30 mg cysteine per 100 ml culture medium.

Studies of the reproduction function in hyper- and hypoadrenocorticism.

The investigation was carried out on 66 patients with hypo- or hyperfunctional syndromes of adrenocorticism, hospitalized and treated by our team. The patients were grouped into 5 lots according to their diseases. Lot one consisted of 34 female patients with Cushing's syndrome, lot two of 10 males with Cushing's syndrome, lot three of 10 males with Addison's disease and lot four, of 6 females with androgenic hypercorticism.

TSH and thyroxine in cord blood of subjects from an endemic area.

Thyroxine (T4) and TSH were assayed in the triplet: maternal venous blood at delivery (M), cord blood (C) and total capillary dry spot blood of the corresponding children 4 - 5 days postpartum (Nb). Fifty-four triplets in all (spontaneous deliveries, full term infants from the Cîmpulung endemic goiter area) were thus determined by sampling out the native families. The controls were 10 triplets from Bucharest, a non-endemic goiter area.

Total blood thyroxine and TSH levels in the newborns of an endemic goiter area in Romania.

A neonatal screening of two approximately equal groups (376 in all) from (A) Bucharest (a non-endemic area) and (B) Cimpulung (an endemic area) was undertaken. RIA of T4 and TSH in dry whole blood spots was performed using blood collected 3--5 days after birth. The results show a significantly lower T4 valu in group (B) as against group (A), i.