SummaryThe sebum excretion rate (S.E.R.) was measured in 20 patients with acromegaly. Eleven were untreated at the time of the measurement and nine had previously undergone surgical hypophysectomy or had received pituitary irradiationby yttrium-90 or radiotherapy. In five patients the S.E.R. was measured before and after such treatment. The mean S.E.R. in the untreated acromegalics was much greater than in a normal population and decreased significantly after successful pituitary ablation. No significant decrease in mean S.E.R. occurred in the group of patients with a poor clinical response to ablation. The correlations between S.E.R. and log serum growth hormone, plasma li-hydroxycorticosteroid levels, and heel-pad thickness were significant, but there was no significant correlation between S.E.R. and serum protein-bound iodine levels. This suggests that the changes in S.E.R. were due to pituitary ablation but could not necessarily be attributed solely to changes in growth hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, or adrenocorticotrophic hormone. The association between the clinical state of the acromegaly and the S.E.R. was better than the association between acromegaly and serum growth hormone. We conclude that the S.E.R. is a useful addition to the clinical and endocrinological data used in assessing acromegaly.Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne NEI 4LP

Thirteen hirsute women were studied and found to have significantly increased mean rates of sweat and sebum excretion and plasma testosterone concentration compared with control women. These same patients had previously been shown to have an increased total skin collagen content. These findings suggest that the whole skin is virilized in hirsutism. This may be the result of cutaneous androgen synthesis.

SUMMARY One hundred and one patients were studied in a double-blind controlled trial to assess the role of oral cimetidine in preventing the continuation or recurrence ofacute upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage from various sources, chiefly peptic ulcer. The dose of cimetidine was 800 mg on entering the study followed by 400 mg six hourly.

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