The incidence of endemic goiter in the Orel district of Russia has been studied in order to assess the informative value of the new WHO classification for identification of iodine deficiencies (1994). A total of 2103 children living in three rural regions, two of which were polluted with low-dose radiation after the Chernobyl accident, have been examined in 1992-1996. The incidence of goiter and thyroid dysfunction in the newborns corresponded to grave endemia, and the median of blood thyroglobulin was moderately increased in the region with the highest pollution (5 to 15 Ci/km² for ¹²⁷Cs), characterized by a slight iodine deficiency. In a less contaminated region (1 to 5 Ci/km²) with a similar level of iodine deficiency, incidence of goiter, and median of blood thyroglobulin the incidence of thyroid dysfunction in the newborns was moderate. In a pure region, despite a more evident iodine deficit and a compatible increase of the median of blood thyroglobulin, the incidence of endemic goiter and thyroid dysfunction of the newborns was the minimal. Hence, the values of the analyzed iodine deficit indicators did not correlate with the actual iodine deficiency in all the regions examined. These differences suggest a possible contribution of strumogenic factors other than iodine deficit to the formation of goiter endemia in the examined district. The detection of these factors in the environment is needed for objective evaluation of the causes and severity of the endemic process and for the development of differentiated approaches to the prevention and treatment of thyroid abnormalities in the population exposed to radiation.

Intraoperative ultrasonic examination was carried out in order to improve the efficacy of intraoperative diagnosis (revision), specify the type of thyroid involvement, and choose an adequate volume of surgical intervention. The method was used in 44 patients with nodular euthyroid formations of the thyroid. The technique is described in detail. As a result of intraoperative ultrasonic examinations, the planned volume of surgical intervention was changed in one-third of cases. Intraoperative examinations in surgical treatment of nodular euthyroid formations of the thyroid help specify the type of thyroid involvement, select the optimal volume of intervention, and thus decrease the incidence of relapses.

The paper deals with the problem of treating diabetics with type II condition in parallel with silent myocardial ischemia. The authors investigated the main clinical features and metabolic parallels of silent ischemia in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and came to the conclusion on the efficacy of glucose-reducing Glurenorm and vasoactive Persantin at the early stages of the disease.

The status of the sex system and pituitary gonadotropic function were retrospectively analyzed after diagnosis verification by electron microscopy in 28patients with "inactive"pituitary adenoma, using preoperative serum values of gonadotropins, testosterone, estradiol, and LH and FSH levels from the results of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH). Two variants of the diseases course were distinguished in female (21%) and male (36%) patients with inactive pituitary adenoma involving no clinically manifest endocrine disorders: a) in women: the onset with oligo-opsomenorrhea type disorders of the cycle (57%) associated with the polycystic ovaries syndrome (88%); in men (37%): onset with a decrease of the libido caused by moderate hyperprolactinemia paralleled by an appreciable increase of adenoma with high (mostly FSH) or normal levels of gonadotropins and sex glands unchanged or enlarged; b) clinical and biochemical signs of secondary hypogonadism in women (22%) and men (27%). Two types of LH reactions to GnRH are observed, depending on the state of the sex glands: a) hyperergic reaction with increase of LH reserve in women with polycystic ovaries and in men with normal sex glands; b) hypo- ergic reaction of LH with a decrease of its reserve in the presence of secondary hypogonadism symptoms. A hypoergic reaction of FSH to GnRF and its low pituitary reserve were observed in both groups.

Twenty-nine male patients with the hypothalamic syndrome of puberty and 13 healthy controls aged 15 to 23 were examined in order to elucidate the contribution of the sympathoadrenal system to the pathogenesis of arterial hypertension in this patient population. The sympathoadrenal activity was assessed from the level of dopamine, noradrenalin, and adrenalin in the blood plasma measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography using highly sensitive detectors. Adrenalin level was significantly decreased in the patients with arterial hypertension, probably because of suppression of phenylethanol methyltransferase, which may indicate that the sympathoadrenal system does not participate in the development and stabilization of arterial hypertension in patients with the hypothalamic syndrome of puberty. Noradrenalin level was reliably decreased in the patients with body weight index of more than 35.0 kg/m², probably due to suppression of thyrosine hydroxylase, whose activity regulates corticotropin. Catecholamine level did not depend on the disease duration, standing of hypertension, or stage of obesity.

Fifty-two youths with the hypothalamic syndrome of puberty and 13 normal subjects aged 13 to 24 were examined in order to elucidate the contribution of the depressor system factor atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) to the development of arterial hypertension in such patients. The disease standing was 2 to 11 years. Plasma ANP, plasma renin activity, and serum aldosterone were radioimmunoassayed. The level of ANP was reliably decreased in patients with borderline arterial hypertension and directly correlated with changes of the renin-aldosterone system. This permitted a conclusion on the insufficient role of the depressor system in patients with the pubertal hypothalamic syndrome and contribution of ANP to the development of arterial hypertension and of disorders in the functional relationships between the renin-aldosterone system and ANP.

Pituitary dwarfism in recent years has become a completely treatable disease. Somatotropic insufficiency cannot be cured, but can be completely compensated by substitution therapy. With timely started and properly conducted treatment, persons with this disease can achieve normal growth and have a good quality of life. This is a huge achievement of modern medicine. In recent years, against the backdrop of the development of molecular genetics and genetic engineering, significant advances have been made in studying the mechanisms of expression and deciphering the structure of somatotropic hormone (STH) and STG receptor gene genes, and regulating the synthesis of various insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and their binding proteins.

The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (Chernobyl nuclear power plant) on April 26, 1986, in terms of its scope and totality of consequences, is the largest nuclear disaster of our time, a nationwide disaster affecting the fate of millions of people living in vast territories.

The Chernobyl disaster is one of the global in the history of human civilization. It is widely recognized that it entailed a variety of widespread social consequences and medical problems. The unprecedented nature of a nuclear accident is primarily associated with irradiation of the thyroid gland in many people, especially children, with radioactive iodine.

A significant place in the practical activities of endocrinologists is occupied by the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid diseases. Among them, one of the most common is autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT). The prevalence of AIT among the population of different countries ranges from 0.1-1.2% in children to 6-11% in women over 60 years of age (Matsuura et al., 1990). According to A. Weetman (1992), the incidence of AIT in a population (clinically explicit forms) is 1%. At the same time, subclinical thyroiditis and circulating antithyroid antibodies can be found in 10-15% of practically healthy individuals in an euthyroid state. The ratio of sick men and women is 1: 4-1: 8 (R. Langer, 1996).

The pathology of the embryonic development of the thyroid gland includes dystopias of the thyroid gland due to impaired migration of the median primordium, various types of non-closure of the thyroid-lingual duct, leading to the formation of cysts and fistulas, the development of additional thyroid tissue along the thyroid-lingual duct.

The clinical picture of dystopia of the thyroid gland into the root of the tongue is composed of the state of function and gland and mechanical manifestations of an increase in its size [4]. The function of a dystopic thyroid gland varies from severe forms of hypothyroidism (HT) to hyperthyroidism, the latter being much less common [1]. Of the dysfunctions in patients with the lingual thyroid gland, hypertension predominates, and often such patients are diagnosed with congenital hypertension. With a normal level of thyroid hormones, the disease manifests itself only with the development of goiter from a dystopian gland: there are signs of impaired swallowing, breathing, bleeding, patients may complain of a foreign body sensation and sore throat, dry cough, nausea [10]. Cancer can sometimes develop from a dystopic thyroid gland, although the likelihood of malignancy is small and does not exceed that for a normally located thyroid gland [3].

Itsenko-Cushing's disease (syndrome) is a disease associated with excessive blood levels of corticosteroids - hormones produced by small glands located above the kidneys and therefore called the adrenal glands. The main role in the changes occurring in the body with this disease is played by the hormone cortisol. These disorders can develop for a number of reasons, and therefore it is often necessary to conduct several tests to determine the cause of the disease.

Biological properties of structural analogs of sex steroids are studied. Alteration of the chemical structure of sex steroids helped single out a number of potential drugs possessing anabolic, antitumor, and contraceptive effects. Some potent estrogens may be used for replacement therapy. The biological characteristics of nitroxy derivative of ethynylestradiol nistranol are described in detail. This agent is characterized by an extremely high contraception index (4.6 times higher than ethynylestradiol). A new Russian two-component oral contraceptive Nitrogest has been developed, with the gestagenic component acetomepregnol synthesized at the Research Chemical Pharmaceutical Institute and the estrogen nistranol replacing the traditional ethynylestradiol.

The chronotropic, calorigenic, and thermogenic effects of isopropyl noradrenalin (INA) and of the vapor mixture of INA and propranolol were studied in 86 adult male albino rats over the course of development of hyperthyrosis induced by 1 to 12 injections of triiodothyronin in a dose of 100 \xg/kg. The Pl-adrenergic reaction of the heart and the calorigenic and thermogenic reactions undergo several phases upon stimulation with isadrin in a dose of 2.0 pg/kg/min: latent period, period of high reactivity, and period of reduction of this activity. The efficacy of inderal (25 \ig/kg/min) adrenoblocking of the positive chronotropic effect of exogenously administered isadrin decreases with the progress of hyperthyrosis.

Changes in the blood serum progesterone, estradiol, thyrotropic and thyroid hormone levels after intracerebroventricular injection of protease inhibitor contrycal in a dose of 100 ng and protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin in a dose of 50 pg were studied in male rats. Central administration of contrycal significantly decreased the levels of thyrotropic hormone (p<0.05) and estradiol (p<0.001) and increased the level of T₄ (p<0.05). Central administration of anisomycin decreased the levels of thyrotropic hormone (p<0.001) and estradiol. The latency of alteration of thyrotropic hormone and T₄ levels is within 1 to 3 h, that of estradiol less than 1 h.

Autoimmune insulin syndrome (AIS) is a clinical syndrome characterized by a combination of recurring hypoglycemic states of varying severity with severe hyperinsulinemia and a high titer of autoantibodies to insulin in the absence of a history of exogenous administration of insulin [7, 21, 26, 46).

The central link in the mechanism of action of glucocorticoids is specific cytoplasmic glucocorticoid receptors (GH). Their synthesis is programmed by 1 gene of chromosome 5 [44]. The direct biosynthesis of GR occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum of the cytoplasm [12]. In the cytoplasm, GRs bind to heat shock proteins (HSP, chaperone proteins) mol. mass of 50, 70, 90 kD [20, 59]. Like the mass of the GR – HSP complex is 300 kD [14]. In the absence of glucocorticoids, GRs are localized mainly in the cytoplasm [30, 63]. In 1 cell contains from 5000 to 100 000 specific GH. GRs have been found in many mammalian tissues [13], however, certain tissues do not contain GRs: the intermediate pituitary, Kupffer and endothelial cells of the liver, renal glomeruli, and proximal convoluted tubules [12, 31].