Don S. Schalch

Interactions of the Pineal Gland, Blinding, and Underfeeding on Reproductive Organ Size and Radioimmunoassayable Growth Hormone

Restricting male rats to one-half normal food intake from day 25 until day 60 of life significantly delayed all aspects of normal growth that were measured. Body weights were reduced by 50% and pituit

Plasma gonadotropin secretory patterns in patients with functional menstrual disorders and Stein-Leventhal syndrome: response to clomiphene treatment.

Abstract Plasma luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels were determined daily in 18 women with functional amenorrhea or oligomenorrhea and correlated with changes in basal body temperature, karyopyknotic index, and cervical mucus characteristics. Of these 18 women, 5 began to menstruate spontaneously after inclusion into the study, 4 cases were diagnosed as the Stein-Leventhal syndrome, and the remaining half could be divided into 3 groups based upon plasma gonadotropin levels: consistently low, consistently high, or normal levels with spontaneous peaks unaccompanied by evidence of ovulation. Ovulation was induced in 10 of 12 patients given clomiphene. Of these, plasma gonadotropins rose slightly during treatment in 7, while the karyopyknotic index rose progressively prior to the ovulatory surge in 9. These studies demonstrate the heterogeneous pattern of gonadotropin secretion in oligomenorrhea and the clinical correlates useful in predicting an individuals response to clomiphene therapy.

Role of the pineal gland in growth restraint of adult male rats by light and smell deprivation.

The effects of various surgical manipulations in adult male rats were studied in order to determine what effect reductions in sensory stimuli (i.e., light and smell) would have on parameters of growth

Isolated Adrenocorticotrophic Hormone Deficiency in Acute Intermittent Porphyria

Abstract A 38-year-old white man with acute intermittent porphyria is presented. This is thought to be the first demonstrated instance of defective adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) secretion res...

Pineal regulation of growth hormone synthesis and release in blinded and blinded-anosmic male rats.

Removal of eyes from young male rats led to slight retardation in body weight gain, tibial length, and tail length compared with respective parameters measured in normal rats. Young rats lacking eyes and pineal glands presented body weights, tibial lengths, and tail lengths that approached normal. Pituitary levels of radio-immunoassayable growth hormone (GH) were significantly lower in blinded rats with intact pineal glands compared with levels in normal or blinded-pinealectomized rats. Plasma levels of GH tended to be lower in blinded and blinded- pinealectomized rats relative to normal levels; however, due to the wide range of GH levels in all groups, no statistically significant differences were observed. Blindness and anosmia in young male rats severely retarded body weight gain, tibial length, and tail length relative to respective parameters of normal, blinded, blinded-pinealectomized, and blinded-anosmic-pinealectomized rats. Blinded-anosmic-pineal-ectomized rats grew subnormally, with body weights equal to those of blinded rats. Plasma GH concentrations were low in blinded-anosmic rats, but due to the overlapping values, statistical significance was not attained. In general, the size of reproductive organs correlated well with inhibition of body growth, being moderately smaller in blinded rats and markedly so in blinded-anosmic rats. These differences in the size of the reproductive organs were not observed if pinealectomy was performed simultaneously with blinding and olfactory bulb removal. It is concluded that, in young male rats that are deprived of light by blinding, there is a dramatic inhibition of GH production and release by the pituitary gland. This response, like the response of the reproductive organs, is enhanced when rats are deprived of both smell and light. These phenomena only occur in the presence of the pineal gland. Therefore, the pineal gland plays an important role in these processes. It is further concluded that anosmia or perhaps non-specific surgical stress may alter GH synthesis and/or release from the pituitary gland.

Hypopituitarism Secondary to Hypothalamic Insufficiency

Abstract One year after a basilar skull fracture suffered in an automobile accident, a 21-year-old woman was found to have profound hypopituitarism, with normal pituitary responsiveness to thyrotro...

Antepartum Pituitary Insufficiency in Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract Pituitary infarction is a well-known consequence of postpartum hemorrhage and attendant hypotension (Sheehans syndrome). Antepartum pituitary necrosis, however, is exceedingly rare, havin...

Hormonal response to synthetic lh-releasing hormone (lh-rh) in prepubertal, pubertal, and adult human males

Synthetic LH-RH was administered to prepubertal, pubertal, and adult human males as a four-hour iv infusion at a dose of 100 μg/m2 body surface. Plasma levels of LH, FSH, testosterone, androstenedione and cortisol were measured by radioimmunoassays. It was found, in general, that adults released the most LH and the least FSH after LH-RH. Some increase in testosterone but not cortisol levels was observed. The exact interpretation of the data depends upon whether the results are expressed as maximal increment in absolute amounts (mIU/ml), maximal increment in percent, or total amount of released hormone. Regardless of the manner of expression, however, the results support the original observation that children as well as adults release gonadotropins in response to LH-RH.

Timing and Neural Pathways Involved in Release of Luteinizing Hormone after Pregnant Mare Serum Administration

Primarily on the basis of indirect observations, workers have speculated that endogenous release of LH in immature rats occurs between 2 and 6 p.m. on the 2nd day, i.e., at 53–57 h after PMS injection

Computer calculation of radioimmunoassays.

Abstract In order to develop a computer program to calculate radioimmunoassay data, the shape of the standard curve was investigated using orthogonal polynomials. Quadratic polynomials were found to fit the curves with a high degree of accuracy, and a computer program was developed using such a formula. Hormone levels are now routinely calculated by substitution into the polynomial. Statistical analysis of each curve permits immediate recognition of technical problems in the assay procedure.