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In order to investigate whether endogenous GHRH and somatostatin were involved in the mechanism of the paradoxical GH rise after TRH injection, changes in serum GH and plasma GHRH were examined before and after TRH injection in 12 cancer patients and changes in serum TSH and GH were similarly studied in 76 cancer patients including 31 GH-responders and 45 GH-nonresponders to TRH. TRH stimulated GH secretions without altering the circulating GHRH concentration in 4 of the 12 cancer patients. There was neither a significant correlation between the increase from the basal to maximum GH and GHRH after TRH injection in the 12 cancer patients nor a reciprocal relationship between the increase in GH and TSH after TRH injection in the 76 cancer patients. These findings suggested that the paradoxical GH rise after TRH injection in cancer patients was exerted by its direct action at the pituitary level, and not mediated through the hypothalamus.

In order to reevaluate the earlier varying data regarding circulatory gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), we assayed extracted GnRH from the plasma frequently collected at mid-cycle in 11 women. For the analysis of episodic GnRH patterns and basal levels, blood samples were obtained at 6 h intervals for 72 h and at 15 min intervals for 2 h every 12 h throughout the experimental period. All blood samples were assayed for GnRH and selected samples for LH, FSH, estradiol and progesterone. For GnRH assay, 5 or 6 ml of blood was mixed with 60 mg of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, disodium salt, and 3 mg of phenylmethylsulfonyl floride immediately after blood collection. These enzyme inhibitors prevented the destruction of GnRH in the blood at room temperature for at least 4 h. Plasma GnRH was extracted through several steps including florisil absorption, acidic extraction and washing with organic solvent. Nonspecific immunoreactivity in the plasma was markedly decreased through this extraction process. Our assay values (approximate range, 0.1-2.0 pg/ml) of plasma GnRH in normal women corresponded to the low range of those obtained by others who used the alcohol extraction method. The basal levels of GnRH did not change significantly throughout 3 different periods, i.e., before, during and after the LH surges, and fluctuated between a small range of 0.11 and 1.44 pg/ml. Although the peak levels of GnRH observed in its episodic patterns did not change between the periods before and during the LH surges, they decreased significantly after the LH surge compared with those seen during the LH surges (0.93 +/- 0.07 vs 1.17 +/- 0.09 pg/ml, p less than 0.05). The present data demonstrate that immunoreactive GnRH in the extracted peripheral plasma does not change significantly in its mean, basal and peak levels during the periovulatory period except for a minor but significant decrease in the peak levels shortly after an LH surge.

In September, 1987, a survey on the nutrition of infants was conducted with 1,235 children from 3 to 6 years of age selected from six nurseries and six kindergartens in the metropolis of Tokyo. We compared the survey results with other similar survey reports with respect to three areas; 1, caries attack on primary teeth, 2, anomalies of dentition and occlusion and 3, how foods are eaten, to observe the difference by age and also between children in nurseries and in kindergartens. The following are the results of this comparative investigation. 1) The ratio of caries attacks on the 4-year-old in this survey was 69.6%, which was lower than the 83.4% of the nationwide survey of 1987 conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, while the average value of the df index per person was 4.7, which was lower than the 6.1 of 1981. 2) The caries incidence rate was higher with children in kindergarten than those in nurseries and many kindergarten children had had more than one caries attack. 3) The frequency rate of anomalies of dentition and occlusion in the entire survey sample was 12.9% for deep overbite, 11.4% for open bite and 10.7% for edge-to-edge bite. 4) In the survey of how foods were eaten, the question, "Does your child like to eat things that are hard to bite on?" was asked, and 10.4% of the group answered "My child prefers eating soft food," which was quite high. To the question, "Does your child often eat things that are difficult to eat?", 17.1% of the entire group answered, "My child refuses to." This tendency was greater among the children in kindergaretens.