CIRCULATING IODOPROTEINS IN A NONGOITROUS ADULT WITH PRIMARY AMENORRHEA, BONY DEFORMITIES, AND NORMAL LEVELS OF SERUM PRECIPITABLE IODINE AND THYROIDAL I131UPTAKE*

Abstract

BLOCK and Werner demonstrated the presence of circulating iodoproteins¹ in the serum of an 8½-year-old nongoitrous cretinous dwarf whose blood was sent by Whitelaw and collaborators (1) for chromatographic analysis. Most of the radioactivity in the serum, seventy-two hour after labelling the thyroid with I¹³¹, remained at the origin of the chromatogram with the methods in use at that time (2). Whitelaw and coworkers suggested in their report that the iodoprotein might be thyroglobulin. Recently at our clinic an adult, also without goiter, presented with primary amenorrhea, bony deformities and normal levels of serum precipitable iodine and thyroidal I¹³¹ uptake; on chromatographic anatysis, the serum was found to contain true circulating iodoproteins. The case report and the results of the studies which were conducted are presented here. METHODS The methods currently used in our laboratory to concentrate and to identify the iodinated compounds in serum have been described elsewhere (3). By these procedures, it is possible to obtain satisfactory results with a test dose of only 125 μc. of I¹³¹. Essentially two methods are employed.