No abstract

Fine needle aspiration from the thyroid gland was performed in 10 patients with multinodular euthyroid goitre. This was done to evaluate the possibility of obtaining sufficient quantities of thyroglobulin by this procedure to allow biochemical characterization. For comparison aspiration from normal thyroid tissue was performed in seven subjects during operation for solitary thyroid lesions (cancer or cysts). The total amount of Tg in aspirate was, goitre 666 +/- 171 micrograms (mean +/- SE), normal 177 +/- 52 micrograms; purified Tg contained, goitre vs. normal: iodine 9.1 +/- 2.2 vs. 26 +/- 3.9; T4 0.86 +/- 0.39 vs. 4.0 +/- 0.7; T3 0.080 +/- 0.024 vs. 0.28 +/- 0.06 mol/mol Tg (all significantly different), compatible with iodine deficiency pattern in Tg from the patients with goitre. Similar values were obtained if iodine and iodothyronines were measured in crude aspirate (after alkaline ashing and pronase hydrolysis, respectively) and related to the amount of Tg in aspirate measured by radioimmunoassay; thus avoiding the cumbersome purification of Tg. Hence fine needle aspiration of the thyroid can be used to obtain Tg for biochemical analyses. This considerably facilitates Tg studies in humans for clinical or investigative purposes.

In a sibship of four sisters, two had Burkitt's lymphoma localized to the breast. Their pretreatment Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) serology were not examined. No EBV genome was demonstrated in the tumors using an in situ hybridizatinon technique. The mother showed an abnormal antibody response to EBV infection consisting of elevated IgA and IgG antibody titers to viral capsid antigen (VCA) and high IgG antibody titer to early antigen. Furthermore, one of the two healthy sisters showed elevated IgG antibody titer to VCA. The EBV serology is mimicking the findings in female carriers of the X‐linked lymphoproliferative syndrome.