A case of an infant with very rare concurrence of pseudohypoaldosteronism and cholelithiasis is described. Aldosterone concentration was extremely high (64.6 nmol/l; normal 0.03–4.4 nmol/l) and fludrocortisone did not have favorable effects on hyperkalemia (7.4 mEq/l) and hyponatremia (124 mEq/l). A gallstone was found using ultrasonography at age 6 months, and it was extirpated surgically. The combination has not been reported previously. The study supports the previous hypothesis that cholelithiasis is found more often in infants with dehydration or electrolyte derangement.

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The relation between thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and triiodothyronine (T₃) was evaluated in a girl with the selective pituitary type of thyroid hormone resistance for more than 7 years to clarify whether bromocriptine was an effective treatment or not. Levels of T3 (before: 2.44 ± 0.64 nmol/l, mean ± SD) and TSH (4.81 ± 2.52 mU/1) were significantly decreased during therapy (T₃: 2.15 ± 0.44 nmol/l; TSH: 1.59 ± 0.78 mU/l). T₃ × TSH, calculated as one of the indices of pituitary resistance, on bromocriptine therapy (3.229 ± 1.255 mU/l × nmol/l) was significantly (p < 0.005) smaller than the product before the administration (11.298 ± 5.891 mU/l × nmol/l). The results suggest that bromocriptine should be one of the agents initially considered for the treatment of pituitary resistance to thyroid hormone.

The purpose of the study was to compare changes in fat distribution in association with obesity and puberty in adolescent boys and girls. Fat areas at the ulnar, triceps, thigh, and calf regions were measured in normal weight prepubertal children (P) and adolescents (N), and overweight adolescents (O). There were significant differences in fat areas at the four sites between N and O of both sexes, especially in the proximal extremities (triceps, thigh) in boys. On the other hand, fat areas on the extremities of N boys and girls were not significantly different from those of P children except for thigh fat area in girls. It is suggested that pubertal maturation in girls, but not in boys, is associated with increased adiposity on the legs, particularly in the proximal regions, and that there are sex differences between changes in fat distribution associated with puberty and obesity. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Skinfold thicknessess (SFT) were measured at ulnar, triceps, subscapular and suprailiac sites in 730 boys and 724 girls (age 3-12 years) whose stature ranged from 100 to 150 cm and whose weight was within ±20% of the average. Means and standard deviation (SD) were calculated after logarithmic transformation of the original skinfold readings to demonstrate stature-based standards of SFT in Japanese children. The means of SFT exhibited nadirs (boys/ girls: ulnar 5.1/5.9 mm, triceps 7.9/9.5 mm, subscapular 4.9/6.1 mm, suprailiac 4.5/6.2 mm) in subjects 110-115 cm tall except for ulnar SFT in girls. SFT values increased as children increased in stature. Standard deviations of SFT at the four sites in short children (staturte < mean -1 SD) were estimated using the stature-based standard as well as an age-based standard. Susms of the SDs assessed by the age-based standard were significantly smaller than those assessed by the stature-based standard in boys (P < 0.05) and girls (P < 0.01) with short stature, suggesting that SFT in short children was falsely understimated by the age-based standard. Thus, the stature-based standard is beneficial for the assessment of SFT, especially in children whose stature is below the mean --1 SD. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.