Letter: Blood-alcohol and serum osmolality.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R W Pain.
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Triiodothyronine (T(3)) is the major thyroid hormone and thyroxine (T(4)) may be only a "prohormone". A normal serum T(3) concentration can compensate for a low serum T(4) to maintain euthyroidism and on the other hand hyperthyroidism can exist in spite of a normal T(4) if the T(3) concentration is increased ("T(3)-toxicosis"). A raised serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) concentration is the present most sensitive indicator of thyroidal hypothyroidism and the level can be used to titrate replacement therapy to the individual's own requirements. TSH concentration is classically low in hypothyroidism secondary to pituitary or to hypothalamic disorder and synthetic thyrotrophin release hormone can then be used to identify which of these two sites is at fault. Thyroxine is the best form of thyroid replacement for hypothyroidism because it produces more consistently physiological concentrations of T(3). Full replacement is achieved with 0.1 - 0.2 mg of T(4)/day and doses above this, as formerly widely used, may cause over-replacement. New reliable kit tests are available which give in one quick procedure a measure of free-thyroxine even in the presence of abnormalities of protein-binding. These kit tests are suitable for the routine screening of the whole spectrum of thyroid dysfunction and when combined, in appropriate instances, with radioimmunoassay procedures for serum T(3) and TSH, provide a battery of tests which will help in the diagnosis of the great majority of causes of thyroid dysfunction.
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In 30 consecutive hyperthyroid patients with diffuse goitre divided dose therapy with carbimazole 40 mg and triiodothyronine 80 mug daily was shown to produce total or subtotal block in thyroid hormonogenesis. Once produced, this block could be invariably maintained with an equivalent single daily dose for periods up to three years. Its notable acceptability to patients, a more stable degree of euthyroid control, ease of assessing suppressibility of trapping, and ability to treat patients in remote areas all support a wider use of this mode of therapy.
One hundred cases of hypophosphataemia (</= 2.0 mg/100 ml) and 84 cases of hyperphosphataemia (>/= 5.0 mg/100 ml) occurring in a hospital population were studied in order to determine the cause of the abnormality. Examples of hyperphosphataemia due to renal failure were excluded from the study.A low serum phosphorus concentration was most frequently due to intravenous administration of carbohydrate, usually glucose, which accounted for 40% of cases. The next commonest cause was vomiting (12%). No obvious explanation could be found in 26% of cases, but in most of these factors were present which are known to affect phosphorus metabolism.No one cause of hyperphosphataemia was outstanding in frequency and in over 50% of cases no definite explanation for the abnormality could be found.
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