(1) The urinary 17-Ketosteroid excretion was assayed with the Zimmermann's reaction using the modified method of Holtorff. As the colorimetric assay procedure was applied to crude neutral urine extracts, the color correction of equation of Fraser et al, was used for eliminating the errors caused by the intefering chromogenes.
(2) The values for the amounts of 17-Ketosteroids excreted by healthy Japanese people were examined on 46 males and 38 females of various age groups. The average daily excretions of 17-Ketosteroids of boys and girls aged 5-12 were 2.2 and 3.3mg., respectively. For males of the age groups of 13-16, 17-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-49, 50-60, and over 60, the average values were 6.6, 11.8, 14.6, 12.4, 11.8, 11.5, 8.7 and 6.3mg., respectively. Those for females of the same age groups as males were 5.7, 7.4, 8.8, 10.4, 8.6, 7.8, 6.2 and 5.1mg., respectively.
(3) The urinary 17-Ketosteroid excretion was examined in the following urological disorders.
1. Benign hypertrophy of the prostate gland. The excretion of urinary 17-Ketosteroids has been determined in 12 cases of benign prostatic hypertrophy. In all cases the values lay within the range excreted by normal men of comparable ages.
2. Prostatic cancer. The values for the amounts of 17-Ketosteroids in 3 cases of carcinoma of the prostate were 7.1, 8.4 and 8.8mg., respectively and showed no differences from the average value for normal men of comparable ages. In a case I studied on the influence of orchectomy upon the excretion of urinary 17-Ketosteroids. The orchectomy caused an initial fall in 17-Ketosteroid excretion and a subsequent rise to preoperative level after 2 weeks.
3. Eunuch. The excretion of 17-Ketosteroids by 2 eunuchs was within the range of normal.
4. Renal tuberculosis. The excretion of 17-Ketosteroids in the cases of renal tuberculosis were examined on 17 male and 8 female patients, Except 2 patients with severe type of tuberculosis the values were within the range of normal, but the average value was less than the average value for normal persons.
5. Epididymitis tuberculosa. The excretion of 17-Ketosteroids in 8 cases of epididymitis tuberculosa was within the range of normal, but its average value was less than the avarage value for normal persons.
6. Miscellaneous diseases. The excretion of 17-Ketosteroids in 3 cases of bladder cancer and in a case of hypernephroma was above the range excreted by normal men of comparable ages, but the excretion of 17-Ketosteroids in 2 cases of rectal cancer and in a case of cancer of urachus was within the range of normal. In anorexia nervosa, the urinary 17-Ketosteroid excretion decreased in 2 cases and was within the range of normal in a case
7. Effect nephrectomy. In order to study the effect of nephrectomy on adrenal cortical activity, the urinary 17-Ketosteroid excretion was examined on 10 cases. The general pattern of response after surgical operations described by Forbes et al. was seen only in 2 cases and I found following 3 types of the pathological pattern of response in remaning 8 cases.
a) In 3 cases the excretion of 17-Ketosteroids fell rapidly to a low point on the fourth or fifth day after the operation without the initial rise and returned to normal within an average of 10 days.
b) In 4 cases the pattern of response was almost the same as the type a), but the return to normal was not found within 2 weeks after the operation.
c) In a case of female the excretion of 17-Ketosteroids rose a little and then fell gradually to the same level as before the operation.
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