Eighty-two normal full-term neonates who had no abnormalities at gestation or at birth, and 32 of their mothers were selected to measure GH, TSH, LH, FSH, T₃, HCG, HPL, IRI, Glucose and NEFA in the umbilical arterial and venous blood, neonatal blood and maternal blood. Hormones were measured by radioimmunoassay. The following results were obtained.
1) GH levels were significantly higher in the umbilical blood than in the maternal blood (P<0.01) but were almost the same between the umbilical arterial and venous blood.
2) GH levels reached a peak 24 hours after birth in the group A infants in which feeding started 12 hours after birth, and reached a peak 48 hours after birth in the group B infants in which feeding started 24 hours after birth. GH levels which were measured at 72 and 96 hours after birth were significantly higher in the group B infants than in the group A (PC 0.01).
3) Differences of GH secretory patterns between groups A and B, depending on the time of initial feeding, were strongly related to those changes in NEFA and glucose levels between both groups at birth. The secretion of GH was inhibited by the increase of NEFA and was stimulated by the decrease of NEFA and the increase of glucose.
4) TSH levels were significantly higher in the umbilical blood than in the maternal blood (P<0.001). T₃ levels were significantly lower in the umbilical blood than in the maternal blood (P<0.01).
5) TSH levels increased rapidly with a peak immediately after birth and then showed a decreasing tendency, but they remained significantly higher during the first 24 hours than they did thereafter. T₃ levels remained at a low level during the first 12 hours and then showed a rapid increase with a peak 24 hours after birth.
6) There were no differences in LH-HCG levels in the umbilical blood between male and female infants. In the early neonatal period, LH levels were higher in the males than in the females and were statistically higher in the males 96 and 168 hours after birth (P<0.01).
7) FSH levels in the maternal blood, umbilical blood and neonatal blood during 96 hours after birth remained less than 2.0 mIU/ml. There were no differences in FSH levels between male and female infants.
8) About 1/300 of the amounts of HCG and HPL in the maternal blood was observed in the umbilical venous blood. The amounts of HCG and HPL in the umbilical arterial blood were about half of those in the umbilical venous blood. HCG and HPL levels were undetectable in the blood of almost all the infants during the first 24 hours after birth.
9) The effects of HCG and HPL on the measurement of GH and TSH by radioimmunoassay seemed to be negligible. Although LH measurement in the umbilical blood appeared to be influenced by HCG, it could be almost free from the influence of HCG 12 hours after birth.
10) Change in IRI was not related to that in GH in the early neonatal period.

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The subjects were 36 neonates who had had no abnormalities at gestation or at birth. In 9 of the 36 neonates, exchange transfusions were performed by umbilical vein catheterization. The others had no abnormalities during the neonatal period. They consisted of 17 male and 19 female infants who were from 39-42 weeks of gestation and weighed 2870-3900g at birth. Serum GH, TSH, LH and FSH were measured by radioimmunoassay during the exchange transfusions, and after the administration of TRH or LH-RH in the early neonatal period. Furthermore, serum GH was measured after glucose administration. The following results were obtained.
1) Serum GH increased in 7 out of 8 neonates, corresponding to continuous hyperglycemia during the exchange transfusion. It also increased in one out of 4 neonates, corresponding to transient hyperglycemia after the glucose administration.
2) Serum GH after the TRH administration decreased in all of six neonates during the first 120 hours after birth but increased in 3 of four neonates during 7 to 10 days after birth.
3) Serum GH after the LH-RH administration increased in 4 out of six neonates.
4) Serum TSH showed no significant changes by either the exchange transfusion or the administration of LH-RH in the early neonatal period.
5) When TRH was given to 5 neonates during 96 hours after birth, the serum TSH response was exaggerated and prolonged. In 6 neonates of 96 hours to 15 days after birth, serum TSH response to TRH was the same as that in normal infants.
6) Serum T₃ increased 60 to 90 minutes after the TRH administration in all 5 neonates.
7) During the exchange transfusion, serum LH definitely increased in 3 out of five male neonates, but serum FSH remained unchanged at a low level in all the male neonates. Serum LH did not increase in all the 3 female neonates, but in 2 of them serum FSH increased.
8) Serum LH after the TRH administration increased in 3 out of four males and 4 out of six neonates. On the other hand, serum FSH remained unchanged in both male and female neonates.
9) Serum LH response to LH-RH was higher in male (especially in more than 6-day-old neonates) than in female neonates. Serum FSH after the LH-RH administration increased in female neonates but did not increase in male neonates.
The results mentioned above suggest the immaturity of the secretory controlling mechanism of GH, LH and FSH in the hypothalamo-pituitary system. However, the secretory mechanism of TSH appears to function independently of the other secretory systems, because serum TSH levels were not influenced by the exchange transfusion and LH-RH administration. In the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal system, secretion of LH appears to be predominant in males while that of FSH appears to be predominant in females even in the early neonatal period.

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The metabolic fates of intravenously administered doubly labeled synthetic estrogens- (6, 7-³H, 7′-¹⁴C) estradiol 3-benzoate in dogs or in albinotic rabbits, and (6, 7-³H, 3-oAc-1′-¹⁴C) 16a-hydroxyestrone diacetate and (6, 7-³H, 16-oAc-1′-¹⁴C) 16a-hydroxyestrone diacetate in dogs-were studied with or without biliary fistulas. This study afforded an evaluation of the loss of side chains (esters) and possible changes in steroid structures.
(1) The metabolism of (6, 7-³H, 7′-¹⁴C) estradiol 3-benzoate in female dogs/The radioactivities were excreted as a percentage of the amounts injected, and the standard deviations were as follows : 11.9±1.1% of ³H and 40.5±3.5% of ¹⁴C in the urine of intact dogs, and 6.3±0.3% of ³H and 27.5±2.3% of ¹⁴C in the urine and 16.0±0.5% of ³H and 1.05±0.05% of ¹⁴C in the bile of dogs with biliary fistulas 7 h. after the administration. The dominant conjugates in the urine were sulfates. Hippuric acid, benzoic acid, 17-epiestradiol sulfate and estrone sulfate were identified in the urine. The dominant conjugates in the bile were glucosiduronates and sulfates. Estradiol 3-glucosiduronate, estrone 3-glucosiduronate, 17-epiestradiol sulfate and estrone sulfate were identified. These results indicate the immediate elimination of the 3-benzoyl group from estradiol 3-benzoate following the injection. They also indicate that hippuric acid (partially benzoic acid) is excreted mostly in the urine, and that an enterohepatic circulation of the hydrolyzed steroid occurs to some extent. The excretion of the benzoyl group into the urine reached a maximum at 1-2 h., and the estrogen metabolites were excreted with maximum excretions at 0.5-1 h. Glucosiduronates of estrogens were seen in the bile but were not detectable in the urine of either the intact dogs or the biliary fistula dogs. The concentrations of estradiol 3-benzoate in the blood were investigated in the intact dogs. ³H was excreted gradually into the urine, and ³C was excreted at a high ratio from 1 h. to 4 h. later. In this study it was clarified that the cleavage of the side chain quickly occurred after the injection, and that the binding of the benzoyl group may have some effects on the enterohepatic circulation of estrogen and on the conjugated form of metabolites.
(2) The metabolism of (6, 7-³H, 7'-¹⁴C) estradiol 3-benzoate in female rabbits/The radioactivities were excreted for 7 h., given as a percentage of the injected dose, and the standard deviations were as follows : 17.5±0.5% of ³H and 42.0±2.0% of ¹⁴C in the urine of intact rabbits, and 13.0±1.5% of 3H and 28.5±1.6% of ¹⁴C in the urine and 2.5±0.9% of ³H and 0.64±0.15% of ¹⁴C in the bile of rabbits with biliary fistulas.
In the intact rabbits, 51.2% of ³H and 39.5% of ¹⁴C in the urine, and 1.5% of ³H and 0.75% of ¹⁴C in the feces were recovered for 7 d. after the injection.
The chief metabolites were hippuric acid, benzoic acid and estradio1-17a-glucuronoside-NAG in the urine. The amounts of ³H and ¹⁴C were very small in the bile and in the feces. These results indicate that estradiol 3-benzoate is hydrolyzed immediately, and that the dissociated steroid is probably not involved in an enterohepatic circulation in the rabbits as much as in the dogs. The extent of the enterohepatic circulation of this estrogen was small in comparison with estradiol in rabbits. The enterohepatic circulation of the ester with the benzoyl group was different from that of the original compound.

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Dopamine-β-hydroxylase (DBH) is an enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of dopamine to noradrenaline in the process of catecholamine synthesis. This enzyme is localized with noradrenaline in presynaptic vesicles in the sympathetic nervous system and in the chromaffin granules in the adrenal medulla. Because DBH in serum originates mainly from sympathetic nerve endings, from which it is released together with noradrenaline, the level of DBH activity in serum may be an indicator of the peripheral sympathetic nervous system.
The purpose of the present study was to determine whether (1) increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system, as determined by DBH activity, is present in untreated essential hypertensives; (2) physical exercise of Master's double two-step test for the hypertensives would result in changes in circulating DBH activity.
DBH levels were measured at rest and during physical exercise in 80 patients with essential hypertension according to the spectrophotometric method of Oouchi, Hashimoto and Yashima.
The results were as follows :
(1) The mean serum DBH activity in essential hypertension increased significantly as compared with normotensive controls under resting conditions. But serum DBH activity did not correlate with either resting blood pressure or plasma renin levels.
(2) In the hypertensives, the mean serum DBH activity resulted in an increase of 18.3% after physical exercise, whereas this activity remained unchanged in the normotensives.
(3) Plasma renin activity, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, mean blood pressure, heart rate and venous hematocrit rose during physical exercise in the hypertensives. But there was no difference between the increase of DBH activity in the hypertensives and that of those levels during the work load.
(4) A patient with hypertension could be classified into two groups of slightly higher and higher subjects with regard to increased serum DBH activity during physical exercise. In the higher subjects, there was a tendency for systolic blood pressure to be more elevated than it was in the slightly higher subjects.
These findings would suggest a greater activity of the sympathetic nervous system in patients with essential hypertension than in normotensive subjects. Furthermore, it seems that there exists two types of essential hypertension by assuming a degree of sympathetic activity through the loading of physical exercise.

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An enzyme-immunoassay for the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) was developed through the use of horseradish peroxidase as a label enzyme. TSH-peroxidase conjugate was prepared according to the periodate oxidation method. Procedures were established using the conjugate and an insoluble second antibody coupled with activated Sepharose 4B. Enzyme activity was determined by the fluorescence reaction of tyramine and hydrogen peroxide as substrates. The sensitivity of the method was sufficiently satisfactory to determine serum TSH concentrations as 0.06μU/tube, which is similar to the results of a radioimmunoassay. TSH values obtained in an unknown 84 samples by the method were in good agreement with those obtained by radioimmunoassay. The coefficients of variation were 1.8 to 5.3% (within assay) and 5.1 to 22% (between assays).
Interference of serum, hemolysis and eluate from dried blood spots using the assay system were also examined, and the applicability of the method in clinical practice was discussed. Since the present method requires only minimal equipment and carries no radiation hazards, it would be useful for routine assays of TSH. Though the method requires further study, it is expected that the method will become an important tool especially in the field of neonatal mass-screening for congenital hypothyroidism.

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