An immunoradiometric assay for human growth hormone (HGH) has been developed which has a detection limit of 1 ng/l and can measure HGH in unextracted urine from normal children and adults. The assay is based on a two-step procedure, using a solid-phase goat-anti-HGH immunosorbent for immunoextraction and [125I]-labeled monoclonal HGH-antibody for detection and quantification. The assay is not affected by urea, NaCl or changes of pH from 5-8. The mean urine HGH concentration in normal children is 6.78 +/- 7.6 (SD) pg/ml, in patients with HGH-deficiency 1.3 +/- 0.9 pg/ml which increases to 11.7 +/- 13.4 pg/ml on the day of growth hormone injection.

With the discovery of hpGRF and hCRF pituitary function can be assessed by the use of four physiologic releasing hormones. After a rest of two hours to reach basal cortisol levels, healthy young male volunteers received a bolus of the following releasing hormones: 1) GRF (100 119) + CRF (50 09) + TRH ( 2 W pg) + LIWI (1Wug) 2) GRF + TRH 3) CRF + TRH 4) LHRH + TRH 5) each releasing hormone alone (n=5 in each group). During the following two hours, GH, ACTH, cortisol, TSH, LH, FSH and prolactin were measured every fifteen minutes. The combination of the four releasing hormones resulted in a rapid rise of all measured hormones with the following peak values:GH: 20,6 + 3.8 ng/ml, ACTH: 81 + 7 pg/ml, cortisol: 112 + 8 ng/ml, TSH: 17.6-2 2.2 uU/ml, LH: 143 Z 25 ng/ml, FSH: 582 2 132 ng/ml and prolactin: 39 2 7 ng/ml (x + SEM). The peak level of TSH in the combined test was nearly twice the level in single TRH-tests (TSH max: 10,2 + 1,3 uU/ml, Students' t-test, p < 0.05). Exaggerated TSH-response to TRH was shown to be entirely due to additional GRF administration, CRF in combination with TRH had no additional effect on TSH release. For all other measured hormones we found no significant differences between application of a single releasing hormone and the combinations studied (analysis of variance). We conclude that: 1) The combined injection of four releasing hormones provides a valuable test for anterior pituitary function. As there are practically no side effects, application in children is favored. Szombathely, HungaryT h e prevalence of 52 congenital minor anomalies /MCAs/ was determined i n 111 children with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus /IDDEl/, and in 111 healthy matched control subjects. T h e average MCA per person was 1.60 i n diabetic children and 0,86 i n the controls /p 3 SD below the mean. Statistics were done by x2test. -Out of 206-cases, 114 had no organic malformation, no specific deletion syndrome and no or only a few nonspecif...

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In this study, we explore the calibration and measurement of high-speed photodetectors for the analysis of the human aura. We designed a counter circuit to count the photomultiplier anode current pulses occurring in accurately measured 10-second periods. The photomultiplier was housed in a darkroom to ensure only photons from the intended source reached the photocathode. To minimize errors from dark counts, the photomultiplier was enclosed in a cooled housing, reducing the temperature to around -30 degrees Celsius. This effectively reduced atomic vibrations and consequent electron emissions to an acceptable level. The results of this study provide valuable insights into the use of high-speed photodetectors in human aura studies, with potential implications for future research in this field. While our study did not provide significant evidence supporting the existence of a human aura, the negative results hold significant scientific importance by offering a critical perspective and contributing to the body of knowledge. Furthermore, our findings can serve as a basis for refuting unfounded claims surrounding the human aura, while also saving engineers valuable time and resources by discouraging redundant projects in the future.

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