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Evidence is presented to indicate that the level of serum cholesterol in certain individuals may vary widely within a matter of hours. The data suggest also that a rapid fluctuation of the serum cholesterol level may be induced in some persons by modifying certain aspects of their environment. Varying lability of the level of serum cholesterol and the differing response of individuals to certain environmental factors require that careful attention be given to the sampling methods used in research.

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rARBOHIYDRATES, usually in the form of lactose, are a normal constituent of milk. Sognnaes,' from a study of rats which were kept on a high sucrose diet through several generations, concluded that the ingestion of sucrose during the formative period of the teeth affects the subsequent caries experience of these teeth due to a change in the maternal milk or due to the high sucrose diet eaten ad libitum after the eyes opened. The teeth of Rhesus monkeys formed during the period of a high sucrose diet also were susceptible to decay, whereas those formed before the animals were placed on a high sucrose diet were immune. An analysis of the caries experience of Scandinavian children during and after World War II tend to support this conclusion.2 The addition of ashed laboratory chow to the refined rations fed dams caused a decrease in the amount of decay produced in the offspring. This might suggest that the increase of caries on the refined diet alone was due to a lack of some important unknown constituent in the diet.3The period of development of the molars of the white rat from the beginning of calcification to eruption into the oral cavity has been shown by Hoffman and Schour.4 This period of developmental time for the first and second molars roughly corresponds to the suckling period. The calcification of the third molars involves only the last quarter of the suckling period and extends approximately 14 days beyond this date. To determine the possible effects that various carbohydrates may have on the molars from the beginning of calcification to their eruption into the mouth, this study was conducted. EXPERIMENTAL Stock animals obtained from the Naval Dental Research Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, were known to be caries susceptible on the Hopper, Webber, Canniff diet. These animals were also found to be caries susceptible on a high sucrose diet.All animals, after weaning, were placed on a high sucrose diet (Table I).The following solutions were administered to 8 groups of young rats during the suckling period by means of a calibrated eye dropper, 20 per cent sucrose, 20 per cent lactose, 20 per cent raw-cornstarch suspension, 20 per cent glucose, 20 per cent equal parts of glucose and fructose, and tap water.

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