Iodine Content of Certain Pathological Bloods in a Goiterous Region

The conflicting findings of previous investigators as to what actually constitutes a normal iodine concentration in the blood and the various opinions regarding pathological iodine led us to study the iodine in diabetic patients, those suffering from thyroid disease, and of a number of pathological cases not directly associated with the endocrine system. Diabetic cases were considered because of the close similarity of this disease, experimentally and clinically, to hyperthyroidism.

The results of iodine estimation on 101 pathological bloods are presented as estimated by the author's method 1 . The investigation includes determinations on 13 diabetic in patients, 54 diabetic out patients, 15 hyperthyroid cases, 4 hypothyroid cases, and 15 miscellaneous cases. Of the diabetic in patients 46.1% are within the normal range, averaging 10.7 γ %, 23.1% are subnormal, averaging 7.5 γ %, and 30.8% are above normal, with an average of 29.2 γ %. Of the diabetic out patients 25.9% show values in the normal range, averaging 11.3 γ %, 46.3% below the normal range, averaging 6.3 γ %, and 27.8% above normal, averaging 60 γ %. In the hyperthyroid cases 33.3% fall within the normal range with an average of 11.5 γ % and 66.7% of the cases show a supernormal value, averaging 86.8 γ %. Of the 4 hypothyroid cases all gave figures within the normal range with an average of 10 γ %. In the miscellaneous pathological cases, 60% have a normal blood iodine concentration, averaging 11.6 γ %, 26.7% are below normal, averaging 6.1 γ %, and 13.3 % above normal, averaging 66.8 γ %. Of the 101 cases studied 53.1% are within the normal range with an average figure of 11.0 γ %, 32% are subnormal, averaging 6.7 γ %, and 34.6% above the normal range, averaging 60.7 γ %.