Clinical efficacy of enalapril, a drug belonging to a group of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, was studied in patients with pubertal juvenile dyspituitarism (juvenile obesity) coursing with arterial hypertension. A reactive increase of plasma renin activity and reduced concentration of plasma aldosterone were revealed. The drug was characterized by a pronounced hypotensive effect. No negative effects on the blood lipid spectrum or carbohydrate metabolism were observed. The study showed that enalapril may be a drug of choice in the treatment of the hypertensive syndrome in patients with juvenile obesity.

We continue to discuss problems regarding patients with thyroid disease. Hypothyroidism is a disease that develops due to a decrease in the function of the thyroid gland, which cannot produce the amount of hormones necessary for the body. If little hormone enters the bloodstream, the saturation of the body with thyroid hormones is significantly reduced and, accordingly, all metabolic processes slow down. Screening for newborns for hypothyroidism means that every newborn is screened for his disease. In the past, treatment of newborns with hypothyroidism only began a few months after birth. Many of these children later had problems with studying at school or they were a little awkward, which could have been prevented if treatment had been started at an earlier time. Unfortunately, in our country there is no such system for screening newborns with all the ensuing consequences.To screen hypothyroidism in all newborns, a drop of blood is taken on filter paper. Subsequently, the level of TSH is determined in this blood sample. If it is elevated (and this is the main laboratory symptom of hypothyroidism), then the children are examined again more carefully, and with the confirmation of the diagnosis, they are prescribed treatment with thyroxine.

Goiter prevalence and iodine excretion levels were assessed in schoolchildren aged 9 and 13 in the city of Moscow (n=91) and the Moscow region, 60 km East of Moscow (n=92). Goiter prevalence was evaluated by ultrasonography. In Moscow it was found to be 31.1 % among children aged 9 and 17.5 % among those aged 13. The respective values in the Moscow region were 47.2 and 39.3 %. Medium urinary iodine levels were 6.9 to 7.5 pg/dl in Moscow and 4.1 to 5.4 pg/dl in the region. According to modern criteria, iodine deficiency in Moscow may be regarded as mild and in the region as moderate. Control programs are urgently needed tc prevent development of iodine deficiency disorders.