1. Elevated thyroid activity was observed in 40- to 60-day-old and 4- to 7-, 12- to 14- and 18-to 20-month-old SHR in at least one of the following four tests using radioactive iodine: the thyroidal ¹31I uptake, the rate of thyroidal ¹31I release, the conversion ratio and the thyroid hormone secretion rate. The thyroid hormone secretion rate was increased 37%, 18% and 27%, respectively in 40- to 60-day-old, and 4- to 6- and 12- to 14-month-old SHR. In 13- to 16-day-old SHR, however, neither the thyroidal ¹31I uptake nor the thyroid weight/body weight ratio differed from those in the control rats. 2. In the early (acute) and the advanced (chronic) stages of renal infarction and DCA hypertension, thyroid activity as assessed by the thyroidal ¹31I uptake did not differ from that in the sham-operated control rats, although increased thyroid weight/body weight ratios were observed in advanced stages. 3. Prolonged propylthiouracil (PTU) administration effectively reduced the blood pressure of both adult male SHR and control rats. The blood pressure of SHR was always higher than that of control rats during PTU administration. 4. On the basis of there results, the relation-ship between hypertension and thyroid activity, especially in SHR, is discussed.

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1. Thyroid activity in SHR remained elevated even after the difference in adrenocortical activities between SHR and control rats was eliminated by adrenalectomy with supplements of NaCl and small doses of hydrocortisone. 2. Thyroid activity in SHR remained elevated even after the administration of hexamethonium, a ganglionic blocking drug. 3. Acute cold exposure (6-8°C, 6 hours) stimulated thyroid activity in SHR but not in control rats. This phenomenon was not prevented by adrenalectomy (with NaCl and hydrocortisone supplement) or by hexamethonium administration. 4. Chronic cold exposure (2-10°C, 6-12 weeks) stimulated thyroid activity more in SHR than in control rats. 5. Emotional stress (restraint for one hour a day for two days) depressed thyroid activity in control rats but not in SHR. The response was not affected by adrenalectomy (with NaCl and hydrocortisone supplement). 6. These results (1, 2) indicate that the elevated thyroid activity in SHR is mediated by neither the adrenal cortex nor the autonomic nervous system. 7. The significance of the different effects of cold exposure and restraint on the thyroid activi-ty in SHR (3, 4, 5) is discussed.

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In the present investigation, the S-GOT, S-LDH, and LDH isoenzymes have been studied in a variety of cardiovascular diseases. As a result, it was found that the organ specificity revealed by the LDH isoenzyme pattern had considerably decreased, and it was confirmed that the serial determination and composite observation of the S-GOT, S-LDH, and LDH isoenzyme patterns reflect more specifically and sensitively the sites and grades of organ injury than does the single determination of the LDH isoenzyme pattern alone. Accordingly, it is suggested that the combined determination of certain appropriate enzymes and their isoenzyme patterns will be found important in future diagnostic enzymology.

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Differential computer diagnosis was performed on 443 patients with con-genital heart disease with use of the likelihood applied to simple VCG parameters in clinical use. The diagnostic performance was so high that this diagnostic procedure was considered to be clinically applicable. To save memory and time in computer diagnosis as well as in clinical practice, reduction in the number of parameters was attempted in the light of the "average information". A set of 8 parameters showed only an insignificant loss of diagnostic accuracy in comparison with the set of all 24 parameters studied. No significant difference was observed in diagnostic accuracy when parameters from two or three planes were used. However, the diagnostic accuracy for a single plane was significantly inferior to that for two or more planes.

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Many studies on effects of noradrenaline infused to patients with essential hypertension have been performed in order to clarify an etiology of essen-tial hypertension. In the present report, the author determined the vascular reactivity to noradrenaline infused to normotensives and hypertensive patients at various infusion rates. The hemodynamic effects of noradrenaline infused to both groups were compared statistically. Patients with essential hypertension diagnosed by "casual" blood pressure were classified into 3 groups according to the values of basal blood pressure. Clinical findings and vascular reactivity to the infused noradrenaline in each group were studied. The antihypertensive drugs were administered orally to the patients with essential hypertension, and the vascular responses to the infused noradrenaline before and after the administration were compared. The findings obtained would have im-portant clinical implications. Materials and Methods Ten normotensives and 27 patients with essential hypertension who were admitted to our Hospital in Iwate Medical University were the subjects in this research. Their age ranged 25 to 60 years in both the normotensives and the patients with essential hypertension (mean age; 38 years in the normotensives and 41 years in the hypertensives). The normotensive patients were free from any sign of cardiovascular disease. The diagnostic criteria of hypertension was referred to the report of WHO Expert Committee on arterial hypertension, using "casual" blood pressure recording: (1) below 140/90 mmHg-normal range; (2) 160/95, mmHg and above- hypertensive range. These hypertensive patients by such casual blood pressure were classified into 3 groups mentioned above as follows: Group I; Basal blood pressure was in a normal range . Group II; Basal blood pressure 140-159 mmHg in systolic and/or 90-95 mmHg in diastolic. Group III; Basal blood pressure was in a hypertensive range. Electrocardiography and ocular fundscopic examination were carried out in all cases of hypertension. The subjects, who shows depression of above 1mm in ST segments in left ventricular leads and/or grade I and above in Keith-Wagner classification was regarded to be positive. Heart rate and brachial blood pressure were measured as the hemodynamic examination. Digital blood pressure and digital blood flow were determined as the peripheral vascular hemodynamics and peripheral vascular resistance was calculated from these values according to the law of Poisuille. The technics of these measurements were employed by method of KIMURA and KATO.

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The effects of propranolol and alprenolol on angina pectoris were investigated in a double-blind cross-over trial. Materials and Methods The protocol for the present trial including the criteria for admission of the patients was decided after discussion by all of the doctors involved. Twenty-one out-patients with typical angina pectoris due to coronary atherosclerosis in whom frequency of anginal attacks had been stable for a long period of time were selected for the trial. As a rule, sublingual use of nitrate preparations to prevent attacks was suspended, however, other drugs such as coronary vasodilators, sedatives, etc. which had been previously administered were continued in the same dosages throughout this investigation period. The trial period consisted of two weeks each for the three periods (the I, II and III periods) in which the following three combinations of the test drugs were allocated to the patients in random order: propranolol tablets (10mg × 6 tabs/ day) with placebo for alprenolol capsules (6 caps/ day); alprenolol capsules (25mg ×6 caps/day) with placebo for propranolol tablets (6 tabs/day); and placebo tablets (6 tabs/day) with capsules (6 caps/day). Dosages of propranolol and alprenolol were decided according to equipotent dose ratio reported by ÅBLAD. One to two weeks prior to and after the trial period were regarded as the pre-trial and follow-up periods. The daily number of anginal attacks and daily consumpation of nitroglycerin tablets and test drugs were recorded by each patient in a diary (Fig. 1-a). At the end of each period, the doctors recorded the severity, duration and precipitating factors of the attacks along with the side-effects (Fig. 1-b). Heart rate, blood pressure and ECG before and after Master's double two-step test were also recorded. The frequency of anginal attacks is much liable to be affected by alterations in various factors such as daily working and emotional state of patients, weather, etc. When investigating the anti-anginal effects of a drug, therefore, an assessment of the frequency of the attacks alone is considered to be insufficient. In this trial, investigations were made on the following items: 1. Frequency of the attacks and consumption of nitroglycerin tablets were expressed in terms of number per week. The differences between the periods were analyzed by the two-tailed Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test.

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The concept of the ventricular gradient proposed by WILSON et al. have been taken into account as an important parameter in the differentiation of the primary change of ST-T from the secondary one. Normal spatial ventricular gradient were derived from the component ECG of the Frank system, one of the corrected orthogonal leads. Three component leads (X, Y, and Z lead) of the vectorcardiograms of the Frank system were recorded simultaneously with paper speed of 100mm per second. 110 healthy individuals aged 18 to 30 and 100 healthy individuals aged 31 to 50 were subjected to the study. The standardization were adjusted so that a 1mV gives a 10mm upright deflection. The original X, Y, and Z ECG were taken on film and were printed out in a magnification of three diameters. The enlarged curves of QRS and T waves were traced along their uppermargines with a planimeter, excluding Ta wave followed up using the method of BERKUM et al. And the time of the onset of QRS wave, the end of QRS and T wave were determined using of the simultaneous X, Y, and Z leads. The u-p segment was adopted as the isoelectric baseline. The analytico-geometrical computation were carried out for the following parameters using the digital computer, OKITAC 5090-H type, Kyushu University Computation Center: the spatial ventricular gradient (SA^^^VG), the spatial QRS area vector (SA^^^QRS), and the spatial T area vector (SA^^^T). Mean value and range were deter-mined for the following items: azimuth (H), elevation (V), and spatial magnitude (Mag.) of SA^^^VG, SA^^^QRS, and SA^^^T, their angles and magnitudes projected on the perpendicular planes, spatial angle between SA^^^QRS and SA^^^T (dA), spatial angle between SA^^^QRS and SA^^^VG (dB), spatial angle between SA^^^VG and SA^^^T (dC), ratio of the spatial magnitudes between SA^^^VG and SA^^^QRS (SA^^^VG/SA^^^QRS ratio), and ratio between SA^^^T and SA^^^QRS (SA^^^T/SA^^^QRS ratio). All the magnitudes are then expressed by microvolt second, and directions by degree. Stature, weight, and chest circumference of the subjects are shown in the Table I. Spatial ventricular gradients and the related vectors in normal young men are given in the Tables II-IV. Mean values of SA^^^VG-Mag., SA^^^VG-H, and SA^^^VG-V were 127 ± 39.6 (56.0 - 208.7) μVsec, 16.0 ± 11.0 (71.0 - -2.0) degrees, and 46.9 ± l0.9 (75.0 - 19.5) degrees, respectively.

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Spatial ventricular gradients in essential hyper-tension were investigated by means of three com-ponent leads of the Frank system, with the purpose of clarifying changes characteristic of the left ventricular overloading. Three component leads (X, Y and Z leads) of the Frank system were recorded simultaneously with a paper speed of 100mm per second for 100 cases of essential hypertension. Based on these records, spatial ventricular gradients and their analytical values were calculated by means of a digital computer, OKITAC 5090-H type. Kyushu University Computation Center. The methods of measurement of the spatial ventricular gradients and the items of analysis were the same as the previous reports. Hypertensive subjects were classified into four groups by mean blood pressures (Table I): Group A (110 mmHg, 31 cases), Group B (110-119 mmHg, 29 cases), Group C (120-139 mmHg, 21 cases), and Group D (140 mmHg, 19 cases). Spatial ventricular gradients (SA^^^VG) and their analytical values are shown in Tables II_IV. Spatial ventricular gradients and their analytical values in the above-mentioned four groups are given in Table V. Statistical comparisons of the observed and analytical values of the ventricular gradients among the young and middle-aged indi-viduals with normo-and hypertension are given in Table VI. Changes in the spatial ventricular gradients characteristic of the left ventricular overloading were decrease in the spatial magnitude and increase in azimuth and elevation, which tended to appear in the above order with an advance of the left ventricular overloading. These changes of SA^^^VG were resulted from decreases in magnitude of X as well as Y components in the same degrees without accompanying any significant change of Z component. The characteristic changes of the spatial ventricular gradients projected on the three perpendicular planes were decrease in right sagittal angle. Spatial QRS area vectors (SA^^^QRS) and spatial T area vectors (SA^^^T) which constitute the spatial ventricular gradients were also investigated concerning the spatial magnitude, azimuth, elevation, magnitudes and directions projected on the three perpendicular planes, and X, Y and Z components of these vectors. The spatial magnitude and elevation of SA^^^QRS increased, and azimuth angle decreased in the left ventricular overloading. As for the X, Y, and Z components of SA^^^QRS, increase in magnitude of X component and decrease in magnitude of Z-component were as certained, but there was no significant change in Y component. As for SA^^^T, the spatial magnitude decreased, and azimuth and elevation increased in the state of left ventricular overload-ing. X and Y components of SA^^^T decreased, but the anterior elements of Z components increased. SA^^^QRS-SA^^^T angles (dA), SA^^^QRS-SA^^^VG angles (dB), and SA^^^VG-SA^^^T angles (dC) enlarged with an advance of the left ventricular overloading. The ratio of dA, dB, and dC were 1 : 0.52 : 0.48 in hypertensive subjects, indicating relatively narrow dB and wide dC as compared to the ratio (1 : 0.7 : 0.3) in normal middle-aged individuals. The enlargement of dC angle was observed even in hypertension of slight degree (Group A). Accordingly, enlargement of this angle may be taken into account as an early sign of the left ventricular overloading. The progress of the left ventricular overloading resulted in increase in magnitude of dB angle, because the displacement of SA^^^VG-H were developed forward to the opposite direction against the displacement of SA^^^QRS-H, which were usually moved backward for the hypertension. However, dC angle has not significantly changed, because the displacement of SA^^^VG-V and SA^^^T-V developed in the same directions. SA^^^VG-Mag/SA^^^QRS-Mag ratio and SA^^^T-Mag/ SA^^^QRS-Mag ratio decreased in the left ventricular overloading because of the diminutions in SA^^^VG-Mag and SA^^^T-Mag and the increases in SA^^^QRS-Mag. [the rest omitted]

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Using a 3-channel telemeter, an electrocardiograph and a data recorder, the author tried to record vectorcardiogram (VCG) continuously be-fore, during and after exercise. Methods Seventy in- and out-patients in the 2nd Department of Internal Medicine were examined in this study. They included 50 persons without cardiopulmonary disease (33 males, 1 7 females) and 20 patients with complete or incomplete right or left bundle branch block (b.b.b.) (18 males, 2 females). The telemeter employed was a 3-channel FM-FM Model TPE-300R of Fukuda Electro Co. The wave frequencies of the main carrier and the subcarriers were 27.12 Mc/s, and 1.7 kc/s, 3.0 kc/s and 5.4 kc/s, respectively. Four 9-volt dry cells were used as the power supply, and the total time constant was above I .5 seconds. The original Frank's lead system was modified by the author so that the electrodes did not interfere the exercise, the Y electrode at the left leg for the original system being shifted to the left epigastric spot lying on the vertical line passing through the point C of the original system, and the earth electrode at the right leg for the original system to the right epigastric region: At first, scalar electrocardiograms (SECGs) were taken at rest with the original Frank's system and the modified Frank's system in all the 70 cases, using the 3-channel telemeter to get the coefficients for coordinate transformation. Then, the SECGs Of the modified Frank's system were recorded on a magnetic tape by setting the output of the 3-channel telemeter for a Sony data recorder through a multipurposed preamplifier PRE 104 of Kokusai Denshi Kogyo Co. These records were performed both in the 18 healthy and in the 5 with b.b.b., every 30 seconds, for 30 seconds, from a few moments be-fore the beginning of the exercise until 5 minutes after its ending. The magnetic tape was set for the vectorcardiograph of Model FVC-3 of Fukuda Medical Electric Co. to get a VCG. The exercise was performed by the about 3-minute walking at an ordinary speed along a flat hospital corridor which was about 250-meter long and the following 3-minute riding on a fixed bicycle at a speed of 30 km/h. For the purpose of calculating the coefficients of coordinate transformation between the original and the modified Frank's systems, the SECGs at rest were reproduced by fitting the output of the vectorcardiograph to a 3-channel electromagnetic oscillograph of Fukuda Electro Co. The exercise VCG was interpreted theoretically by transforming its coordinates into the original Frank's coordinates through the Coordinate Changer divised by us.

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