Stress-induced gonadotropin secretion was investigated in both sexes in relation to limbic participation in its mechanisms. Application of the immobilizationstress induced the release of serum corticosterone in intact females, males and orchidectomized estrogen-primed males. Serum prolactin was also increased by the stress in females and orchidectomized estrogen-primed males, but not in intact males. Hippocampal ablation did not affect the stress-induced release of corticosterone and prolactin.
Serum LH was neither increased nor decreased by the stress in intact females and males, but it was increased in orchidectomized estrogen-primed males. Hippocampal ablation, however, brought about LH release in stressed females and abolished stressinduced increase in LH in orchidectomized estrogen primed males.
Stress increased serum or pituitary FSH in females and orchidectomized estrogenprimed males, but this effect was suppressed by hippocampal ablation.
Thus, there is a sex differentiation in stress-induced gonadotropin and prolactin secretions, and the hippocampus may be involved in its control mechanism.

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The presence of elongated acidophils with a long process extended to the blood capillary was confirmed by optical and electron microscopies in the normal infantile and adult rats. They are principally localized at the periphery of the gland and characterized by the medium-sized granules of 200-250mμ in diameter sometimes along the plasmamembrane. Elongated acidophils resemble, in their cytological properties, both the ACTH secreting cells by Moriartry and Halmi (1972) and immature acidophils in postnatal rats (Watanabe 1974). In our electron microscopic observation on the normal adult rats, three kinds of central spherical acidophils are distinguished: The first type contains purely small granules 130-200mμ in diameter, the second has large and small granules ranging from 130 to 350mμ in diameter, and the third only large ones about 350mμ in diameter. The first one was first described in the present study, while so-called “somatotrophs” might belong, in our opinion, to the second or third group. The definite response to adrenalectomy appeared on a series of acidophils. After adrenalectomy elongated acidophils were deprived of medium-sized granules within 24hr and they became agranular cells, but gradually re-produced their granules with the lapse of postoperative days. Some central spherical acidophils fully stored small granules within 5 and 7 days. Consequently, the proportion of the first type of acidophils increased. On the other hand, a series of basophils also underwent some changes following adrenalectomy. Above all, some of gonadotrophs stored up granules of low density along with haloed granules regardless of the diversity in postoperative interval, despite the retrogressive sign in some other gonadotrophs. Following adrenalectomy, some thyrotrophs of the irregular shape or stellate-shape were also found to contain a limited number of haloed granules in the Golgi area. These cells may correspond with “corticotrophs” either by Kurosumi and Kobayashi (1966) or by Siperstein and Miller (1970). They, however, never hypergranulated at any postoperative periods. In conclusion, the acidophils containing only the small granules were shown to exist even in the normal adult rat, and adrenalectomy gave rise to definite release subsequently eading to storage of the small granules. The parallelism between pituitary ACTH content (Hodges and Jones, 1964) and the number of small granules may suggest some close correlation between these granules in acidophils and ACTH storage.

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Porcine calcitonin (CT) was administered intravenously to 4 patients whose kidney function and plasma Ca and P levels were normal. A significant increase in urinary P excretion with an increase in urinary cyclic AMP (cAMP) excretion was observed. Plasma P and cAMP levels which were determined simultaneously did not show any significant change. Furthermore, plasma PTH levels determined by the radioimmunoassay revealed that the increased PTH levels provoked by the CT infusion was not responsible for an increase in urinary P or cAMP excretion, since no increase in plasma PTH levels was found during the period when an increase in urinary P or cAMP excretion was observed. In addition, the CT infusion caused an increase in urinary excretion of Ca, Na and Mg as well as P.
Based on these data, it can be concluded that CT administered intravenously acts directly on the kidney, resulting in an increase in urinary P excretion which could be mediated through cAMP in the kidney.

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A 44 year old female with renal tubular acidosis, osteomalacia, lipemia and aminoaciduria is reported. Mild hypocalcemia, marked hypophosphatemia and elevated serum alkaline phosphatase were associated with high serum immunoreactive parathyroid hormone level, which was promptly suppressed by intravenous calcium infusion, indicating secondary hyperparathyroidism. Among 56 cases of renal tubular acidosis so far reported in Japan, patients in the first decade predominated and the male to female ratio was 1 to 3. Osteomalacia was found in 19 and hypergammaglobulinemia in 11 but aminoaciduria was seen only in 2. Marked lipemia was the most unusual aspect in the present case.

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Two different gonadotropic fractions were obtained by the ion exchange chromatography on carboxymethyl cellulose and DEAE cellulose columns, following to the gel filtration through Sephadex G-100 of chicken adenohypophysial glycoprotein. Oneof the fractions possessed a high activity (3.4×NIH-FSH-S8) of follicle stimulating hormone and undetectable activity of luteinizing hormone. The other fraction possessed a low but significant activity (0.085×NIH-LH-S16) of luteinizing hormone and relatively low activity (0.59×NIH-FSH-S8) of follicle stimulating hormone. Gonadotropic activities assessed by chick testes 32P uptake method of the former and latter fractions were 1.6×and 3.0×NIH-LH-S16, respectively.

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Seventy-five TRH tests were carried out in 61 subjects with hyperthyroidism before and in the course of treatment; the results were correlated with serum T₄ and T₃ concentrations. In certain subjects, T₃ suppression tests were done along with the TRH test. All subjects with elevated T4 and T₃ (group 1) did not show a TSH response to TRH. Eleven out of 13 subjects with normal T₄ and elevated T₃ (group 2) did not show TSH response. In 22 subjects with normal T₄ and T₃ (group 3), 40.9%(9/22) did respond and 59.1%(13/22) did not respond to TRH. In 7 subjects with low T₄ and/or T₃ (group 4), 4 did not respond and 3 did respond to TRH. In each group, there were no significant differences in age and sex of the subjects, mode of therapy, serum thyroid hormones (T₄, T₃) and BMR between responders and non-responders to TRH. Sixteen subjects underwent T₃ suppression tests. Twelve subjects with no or low TSH response to TRH did not show suppression, while all 4 subjects with normal or exaggerated TSH response showed suppression. The results indicate that serum thyroid hormone levels are not the sole determinant of the TSH response to TRH and confirm that the suppressibility of the thyroid gland by T₃ appears to require the presence of sufficient TSH secretion from the pituitary. Several mechanisms of variable TSH response to TRH in the course of treatment of hyperthyroidism were discussed.

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Female rats were made persistent-estrous and anovulatory by giving a single injection of 1.25 mg of testosterone propionate 4 days after birth. The rats were ovariectomized when adult and given 7 daily injections of progesterone plus estradiol in amounts sufficient to condition the uteri fbr fbrmation of deciduomata in response to trauma. The administration of the hormones was commenced on the day following ovariectomy, or 32 or 62 postoperative days after priming with estradiol for 2 days. Incidence of deciduomata following uterine traumatization on the 4th day of the injection period was always much higher in non-androgenized controls than in androgen-sterilized rats. It seems likely that neonatal androgenization results in a permanent or at least a long-lasting reduction of uterine sensitivity to progesterone-estradiol. The longer the interval between ovariectomy and the beginning of progesterone-estradiol administration, the less marked was the mucification of the vaginal epithelium. There was no correlation between the degree of vaginal mucification and the development of deciduomata.

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The estrogen production of the ovarian follicles with maturation and its significance in the ovulatory mechanism were investigated in the laying quail. Estrone and estradiol-17β contents of the wall of growing follicles and of peripheral blood plasma were determined with radioimmunoassay.
Estrogen contents of the medium-sized follicles were high and those of other follicles were negligibly small. Thus the estrogen production of the follicle increases with its rapid growth and ceases abruptly two days before ovulation. During an ovulation cycle, the follicular estrogen levels showed cyclical fluctuation having a peak 4 hr before next ovulation, when the plasma estrogen level showed periodical increase. Surgical removal of the follicles including two medium-sized before the peak of the estrogen level delayed the ovulation of larger follicles and accelerated growth of smaller follicles.
The important roles of estrogen production of the medium-sized follicles in the follicular growth and the ovulation were suggested.

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A daily dose of 20-50mg of 3, 5-diiodo-4 (3'-iodo-4'-acetoxyphenoxy) benzoic acid (acetiromate) was given to four hyperlipidemic patients for a long period ranging from 2 years and 8 months to 5 years and 6 months. The compound was given initially in a daily dose of 10mg and the dose was gradually increased by 10-20mg every month until a satisfactory serum total cholesterol level was attained. The maintenance dose (20-40mg daily) was continued thereafter. The final serum cholesterol level showed a decline of 20.5 to 37.0% from the initial level. In a case of familiar hyperlipidemia, xanthomas disappeared after treatment. In another case, an attack of myocardial infarction took place during the treatment with a daily dose of 20mg. Otherwise, neither side effects nor changes in ECG were observed. In treating a large number of hyperlipidemia cases with thyroxine analogues for a long term, increased incidence of myocardial infarction must be seriously surveyed. Suppressed iodine uptake was considered to be caused by inorganic iodine freed from the compound. Serum thyroxine levels during the long-term treatment suggest no significant suppression in the thyroid function in these patients.

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Aldosterone in 2 ml of plasma was determined by radioimmunoassay. A small modified 10 ml pipette column of LH-20 (0.8×15 cm) was used for separation and 1, 4-diaminoanthraquinone was employed as a marker dye. The application of the small modified column and the marker dye made the separation easy, rapid and accurate. The recovery, precision, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the method were satisfactory. This method was considered to be convenient enough for clinical use.

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