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— The effect of ECT on insulin plasma levels was studied in 10 single treatments in five patients suffering from DSM III-diagnosed schizophrenia. The treatments were chosen from early, middle and late ordinal positions. A significant rise was found 10, 20 and 30 min after an effective electrical stimulus. Values returned to normal in all cases at 60 min. The rise at 10 min occurred in all treatments, irrespective of ordinal position, but an incidental finding was that the higher the ordinal position of a given treatment, the higher the peak of insulin.

Ninety unselected male patients with infertility were treated with clomiphene citrate, 25 mg/day, taken on 20 consecutive days each month for a period of 3 to 12 months. The patients were divided into two groups according to sperm counts. In 39 cases of oligozoospermia with sperm counts above 10 million/ml, six pregnancies were obtained (15.4%) while a significant improvement of sperm counts occurred in 22 cases (56.4%). On the other hand, in 51 cases with azoospermia or oligozoospermia below 10 million/ml only three pregnancies occurred (5.9%) and two patients (3.9%) had significantly improved sperm counts. The indications and form of administration of clomiphene citrate are commented upon.

The authors studied the saccharidase levels in the intestines of rats during the perinatal period. Sucrase and maltase values increase with advancing time, while lactase values decrease also age-dependently. The thyroid gland has a decisive role in the intestinal maturation of fats. In an assessment of circulating blood thyroxin levels, the authors found that the amount of thyroxin at birth is practically undetectable (less than 0,05 mug/100 ml expressed in iodine), rapidly increasing up to adult levels (3,8 mug/100 ml) 22 days after birth.