Recent advances in endocrinology / by A.T. Cameron.

  • Cameron, A. T. (Alexander Thomas), 1882-1947.
Date:
1947
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Recent advances in endocrinology / by A.T. Cameron. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    32/466 (page 20)
    Surviving tissues of thyroidectomized animals use less oxygen than those of normal eontrols ; those of thyroid-fed animals use more. Experiments in whieh oxygen uptake of mineed tissue or of tissue slices is measured by Warburg’s method indicate that the thyroid hormone produces acceleration of anaerobic oxidation in tissue cells. There is evidence of both peripheral and central action of the hormone. Where the hormone increases oxidation there is a parallel increase in production of ammonia. Mansfeld concluded that the thyroid hormone acts on the cells themselves, primarily in facilitating changes in protein meta¬ bolism, and that such changes involved others which included oxidation processes and therefore increased use of oxygen. It is probably safe to state, with our present knowledge, that the various effects associated with thyroid action all involve oxidation processes, directly or indirectly, but that some of these effects may not necessarily be the result of the oxidative processes, but rather of pre-oxidation changes (such as amino-acid cata¬ bolism). The Thyroid and Growth. While heavy doses of thyroid or thyroxine undoubtedly diminish growth rate, there is evidence that the thyroid hormone is actually needed for growth under physiological conditions. Thus it will be shown (p. 335) that the growth hormone of the pituitary is ineffective when injected into the thyroidectomized animal. The dwarfing of the cretin is removed by adequate early thyroid treatment (cf. p. 41). Recently Koger, Hurst and Turner have shown that minute daily doses of crystalline thyroxine, injected subcutaneously into young mice, slightly accelerated growth and body-weight increase over a period of several weeks, with corresponding increase in food intake. The treated animals had a higher percentage of water and nitrogen, and a lower percentage of fat than the controls. References Abbott et al.. Can. Med. Assoc. J., 1933, xxviii, 481 ; 1934, xxxi, 465. Abbott and Prendebgast, Can. Med. Assoc. J., 1936, xxxiv, 609. Abelin and Florin, Arch. exp. Path. Pharm., 1933, clxx, 443 ; Abelin, Klin. Woch., 1934, xiii, 940. Algire, Bull. School Med. Maryland, 1939, xxiii, 211 ; quoted by Lerman, Andrus and McEachern, Ann. Int. Med., 1935, ix, 579 ; McEachern, Bull. Johns Hopkins Hosp., 1935, Ivi, 145. Bachromejew and Ter-Ossipewa, Endokrinologie, 1935, xv, 404. Baillif, Am. J. Anat., 1937, Ixii, 1. Blaxter, j. Endocrin., 1945, iv, 237 ; 266. Brock, Doty, Krasno and Ivy, Endocrinology, 1940, xxvii, 504. Calvo and Goemine, Arch. Biochem., 1946, x, 531.