B. Malamos

Iodine Metabolism in Chronic Renal Insufficiency

Iodine metabolism has been studied in 20 patients with advanced chronic renal insufficiency due to primary renal disease, and thyroxine turnover in another 5 similar patients. Comparatively to 18 cont

Endemic goiter in Greece: Effects of iodized oil injection☆

Abstract Iodine metabolism has been studied in patients with endemic goiter in Greece following the injection of iodized oil, which reduced the size of the glands, more markedly in the diffuse goiters than in the nodular ones. Injection of labeled iodized oil resulted in a very slow diffusion from the injection site, and the local radioactivity decreased with a mean biological half-life of 70 days. Serial studies over 12 months in 34 patients with endemic goiter injected with 1 ml. of iodized oil showed an increase in the Plasma Inorganic Iodine (PII) and the urinary iodine, and a decrease in the thyroidal 131 I uptake and clearance. The excess urinary iodine was in inorganic form. Extrapolation of the data suggests that a 1 ml dose would give adequate prophylaxis from iodine deficiency for 25 months. Following the iodized oil injection, the Absolute Iodine Uptake (AIU) by the thyroid increased, and so did the BEI and serum thyroxine (Tetrasorb) values whereas the Triosorb test did not show consistent results. The serum PBI increased out of proportion to the BEI, the difference being accounted for by the presence in the circulation of an iodinated albumin-like protein.

IODINE METABOLISM IN AUTONOMOUS HOT NODULES OF THE THYROID

The thyroidal iodide clearance rate, the plasma inorganic iodine (PII), the absolute iodine uptake (AIU) by the thyroid, the serum PBI, the intrathyroidal exchangeable iodine pool, the renal iodide clearance rate and the urinary iodine excretion were measured in twenty‐one cases of autonomous hot thyroid nodule with suppression of the normal parenchyma (toxic adenoma, TA), in eight cases of autonomous hot nodule without such suppression (subtoxic adenoma, STA), and in eighteen controls; the 131 I uptake and PB131 I were measured in 390 cases of TA and 111 of STA compared with eighty‐one controls.

Simplified water-loading test in bacteriuria.

An intravenous injection of 20 mg of Furosemide followed by 500 ml normal saline was given to 60 hospital patients investigated for symptoms of urinary tract infection, of whom 36 had positive urine cultures. The subjects were separated into 4 groups, depending on the pre- versus post-diuretic changes in urine cultures; i.e. 16 steadily negative, 8 negative turning positive, 24 steadily positive, and 12 positive turning negative. The data indicate that a ‘steadily positive’ or ‘turning positive’ urine culture after furosemide is associated with upper urographic abnormalities, and more advanced renal functional impairment than a ‘turning negative’ or ‘steadily negative’ urine. It is pointed out that the direction of bacterial excretion changes, combined with pyelographic data and functional tests, is more specific of intrarenal infection than the absolute initial or final colony counts.