No abstract

Pinealectomy in the rat induces a significant increase of the arterial blood pressure within 15 days from the surgical procedure; this hypertension is still present 30 and 60 days after pinealectomy while after 90 days it returns to the normal range. Histological examination of the kidneys of pinealectomized hypertensive rats shows wall thickening and lumen narrowing of the arterioles, adventitial and periadventitial fibrosis, dense glomeruli. The vascular lesions are not diffuse but patchily distributed. Body weight is higher in pinealectomized rats compared with normal and sham-operated animals: this difference becomes significant about 40 days after pinealectomy and gradually decreases until it disappears at the end of the third month. Food and water intake is higher in pinealectomized rats up to the 7th week; during the 8th week they return to the normal range.

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Pituitary-thyroid function has been studied in heroin addicts. Data have been obtained in 10 male addicts, aged 18-24 years, with histories of addiction to heroin alone lasting from 8 months to 4 years, and in 9 controls matched for sex and age. Basal plasma levels of TSH, T4 and T3 were measured. A TRH stimulation test was done, injecting 500 micrograms of TRH iv as a bolus and assaying TSH levels before the injection and at 30 min intervals up to 2 h afterwards. The results revealed no difference between addicts and controls in basal levels of TSH, T4 and T3. The TRH stimulation test induced a blunted TSH rise in 50% of the cases. The possible mechanism of action of heroin on pituitary-thyroid axis is discussed.

No abstract