SERUM 'HORMONAL' IODINE IN RELATION TO THYROID FUNCTION AND TREATMENT WITH ADRENOCORTICOTROPHIC HORMONE (ACTH)

Abstract

The calibration and application of a catalytic method for serum and tissue iodine is described. The apparatus is simple, multiple determinations can be performed simultaneously, and the answer read directly from a spectrophotometer scale. For routine work with human serum in the clinic, 0·5 ml. samples are used. The values so obtained conform closely to those obtained by distillation procedures employing larger samples. Large pools of human serum yield a value of 5·3 μg. iodine/100 ml. (protein-bound). The arbitrary 'normal' range of values is the same as for other methods, i.e. approximately 4–8 μg./100 ml. The method is also applicable to decigram samples of fresh tissue. The effect of treatment with adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) upon circulating thyroid hormone is illustrated in several clinical cases, i.e. acromegaly, the nephrotic syndrome, scleroderma and Cushing's syndrome.