[Strategy for studying mineralocorticoids other than aldosterone in arterial hypertension of hormonal origin].

Deoxycorticosterone (DOC) and corticosterone (B) are two mineralocorticoid hormones, which are both secretory products of the zona fasciculata and precursors of aldosterone in the zona glomerulosa. Hyperproduction of these compounds plays certainly a role in the pathogenesis of Cushing syndrome hypertension. Their levels in plasma are moderately elevated in half cases of tumour or hyperplasia.

[Plasma and intrafollicular hormone profiles in the late preovulatory phase. I. Spontaneous cycles].

The hormone state of development in the late preovulatory phase is described in its relationship to the start of the LH surge which occurs 37-39 hours before ovulation. No precise relationship has been found between the oestradiol (E2) peak in the plasma and that which occurs before ovulation. All the same, the succession of hormone events that have been observed in 77 spontaneous cycles is the following: the level of E2 suddenly rises between 35 and 30 hours before the ovulatory discharge and this rise is immediately followed by a rise in the level of LH.

Isolation and structural properties of a high-molecular-weight actin-binding protein (filamin-like protein) in hog thyroid gland.

A high-molecular-weight protein has been isolated from hog thyroid gland. This protein, with a molecular weight of 475,000 determined by ultracentrifugation and gel filtration, is a complex of two polypeptides with apparent molecular weights of 250,000 and 240,000. It may be related to filamin-like proteins by its physicochemical properties and its immunogenic cross-reactivity towards gizzard filamin antibodies.

Endocrine aspects and tumoral markers in intracranial germinoma: an attempt to delineate the diagnostic procedure in 14 patients.

This work outlines the endocrine abnormalities associated with intracranial germinomas (14 patients before treatment). Diabetes insipidus of various intensity was present in all cases. Adipsia is often present as well.

Seasonal influence of diurnal rhythms in the onset of the plasma luteinizing hormone surge in women.

The time of the LH surge onset in plasma was detected in 75 human cycles. The preovulatory LH surge began between midnight and 0730 h in two thirds of the patients. According to the season of study, the LH surge began between 1030 and 2215 h in 52.

Steroid hormone levels in peritoneal fluid during the periovulatory period.

In order to obtain further information on estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) patterns during the periovulatory period, their levels were determined in peritoneal fluid (PF) and plasma obtained during 22 laparoscopies performed within the 58 hours following the luteinizing hormone surge-initiating rise (LH SIR) determined by plasma LH assays every 6 hours. E2 levels in plasma and PF did not differ before ovulation (n = 13) but differed after ovulation (n = 9, P less than 0.01).

Simultaneous study of somatotrophic and corticotrophic pituitary secretions during ornithine infusion test.

An ornithine infusion test was performed in fifty-four children with constitutional short stature. The ornithine infusion induced an elevated level of GH at 45 min (mean value = 873 pmol/l) and a similar rise of cortisol levels (mean value = 544 nmol/l). An important peak of ACTH appeared 15 min before the increase of cortisol.

Plasma and urinary melatonin in male infants during the first 12 months of life.

Plasma and urinary melatonin, testosterone and luteinizing hormones were radioimmunologically assayed in 26 male babies during the first year of life. The results show that plasma melatonin levels are low during the phase of postnatal elevation of testosterone and luteinizing hormones. They subsequently increase when testicular activity decreases.

17 alpha-hydroxylase deficiency syndrome associated with bilateral streak gonads and impaired development of Müllerian ducts derivatives. Report of a case.

We report severe 17 alpha-hydroxylase deficiency in a 17 year-old black girl with 46,XX genotype. The diagnosis was suspected because of primary amenorrhoea, absence of sexual maturation, hypertension and hypokalaemia with renal potassium wasting. Endocrine investigation revealed low basal levels of all steroid hormones which require 17 alpha-hydroxylation for biosynthesis (i.

[Gonadotropic insufficiency associated with the cytomegalic type of congenital adrenal hypoplasia (author's transl)].

Two adolescents with chronic adrenal insufficiency, presumably secondary to the cytomegalic type of congenital adrenal hypoplasia, developed a gonadotropin deficiency at puberty, which was both delayed and incomplete. Endocrine studies demonstrated in plasma low LH levels which failed to increase after LH-RH, higher levels of FSH, low basal testosterone concentration but increasing normally after HCG stimulation. Azoospermia was demonstrated in one case.

Dexamethasone-suppressible hypercorticosteronism in two 46,XX subjects with ambiguous genitalia and ovarian cysts. Partial defect of 17 alpha-hydroxylase or 17-20-desmolase.

The paradoxical association of female pseudohermaphroditism and androgen deficiency was observed in two 46,XX subjects with high corticosterone plasma levels. Subject 1 has been declared a boy due to clitoris enlargement; she had no vagina and uterus. Subject 2 had ambiguous external genitalia.

[Serum somatomedin activity in children after surgery for craniopharyngioma (authors transl)].

Serum somatomedin activity was measured in 43 sera from 22 children aged 5 to 15 years operated on for a craniopharyngioma. All had a complete growth hormone deficiency and none received growth hormone therapy. At the time of the study, hydrocortisone therapy was given 29 times and thyroid powder 33 times.

Evaluation of PS beta 1G and other tumor markers in germ cell tumors of the testis.

Pregnancy Specific beta 1 Glycoprotein (PS beta 1G), human choriogonadotropin (hCG), alpha foeto protein (AFP) and Carcino Embryonic Antigen (CEA) were assayed in 58 patients with active germ cell tumors and 20 patients in complete clinical and radiological remission. The markers were negative in all the cases in remission as well as in one case of pure teratoma. The positivity rate of the four markers together is 75%, which is better than for any marker alone.

Interpretation of plasma luteinizing hormone assay for the collection of mature oocytes from women: definition of a luteinizing hormone surge-initiating rise.

Analysis of plasma luteinizing hormone (LH) assays (4 assays per day) permits the discernment of the onset of the physiologic effects of ovulatory release. This threshold value of LH plasma concentration (LH surge-initiating rise, LH SIR) is determined for each cycle in terms of the average baseline level of the previous day. The chronology of follicle and oocyte maturation after LH SIR is similar to that which follows chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration: none of the 20 patients, compared with 2 out of 10, had ovulated when laparoscopy was performed 30 to 35 hours and 36 to 38 hours after LH SIR time, respectively; 1 out of 3, 9 out of 14, and 5 out of 5 patients had an in vitro fertilized egg when oocytes were collected 30 to 32, 33 to 35, and 36 to 38 hours after LH SIR time, respectively.

Falsely elevated serum thyrotropin (TSH) in newborn infants: transfer from mothers to infants of a factor interfering in the TSH radioimmunoassay.

In a TSH screening program for congenital hypothyroidism we detected seven newborn infants with normal plasma T4 and T3 levels but high immunoassayable TSH. Similar findings were obtained in their mothers. Serial plasma dilution curves, with and without the addition of normal rabbit serum to the samples, showed that the result of TSH assay performed with antihuman TSH rabbit antiserum was falsely elevated in mothers and infants by an interfering factor.

[Recovery of preovulatory human oocytes (author's transl)].

Rapid radio-immune assaying of LH was carried out four times daily on 52 women in the preovulatory phase of the cycle. This method enables the precise detection of the LH surge and recovery of the mature oocyte by laparoscopic aspiration of the follicular content, just before ovulation, which is between 28 and 36 hours after the start of the LH surge. The oocytes was recovered in 27 out of 41 patients with a normal cycle (66%).

[Creation, development and maintenance of the data-base of a computer-assisted diagnostic system (ADM) (author's transl)].

The creation of the data-base for our ADM system begun in 1972, tests on a high productivity type of procedure which we consider should be explained. In organizing and creating our data-bank our routine procedures are: first, the capture of signs, symptoms and pathological data after the text editing of the description of diseases as prepared by medical students under the direction of the Medical Computing Service; second, the control and coding of the data by the personnel of the Medical Computing Service: third, the machine storage of the data and the automated logical controls by the Medical Computing Service; and fourth, the semantic control of the data as well as the availability of each new version. Other related procedures based on the individual theses and various studies are described as examples.

[By-Products of the computer-assisted diagnostic system (ADM) (author's transl)].

The data-bank of signs and symptoms and classes of diseases developed for the computer-assisted medical diagnostic system (ADM) allows us to develop a series of interesting by-products. Some by-products are utilitarian: the inverted file and lexicon subset of signs, symptoms and diseases organized by medical discipline. Other by-products in the area of operational research serve to increase the quality and productivity of medical practice.