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microspectrophotometry on animal thyroids in this laboratcry, thel rigid
methodology for procuring and processing the tissue was set into @peraticn
each time human thyroid material was to become available. Thus, fhe
quentitative measurement of DNA in individual nuclei was undertak@n in hemen
' tissue as we had done in the past in animals. Over a period of ajlaost
10
years, thyroid tissues from 12 131f treated patients were obtaine¢
study.
All hed had Graves' disease.
for this
In addition, % tissues from/thyroids
previously subjected to x-ray radiation and 2 controls were obtaiged.
Ten
of the 12“13iy patients were subjected to surgery because of masses which
had developed in the thyroid; one patient wos operated on for pergistence of
hyperthyroidien and was receiving an antithyroid drug at the timejthe tissue
was cbtained; in two instances tissue was obtained at prompt post imortem
examination. All tissues had been processed and stored in paraffin blocks
so that simultaneous staining could be accomplished on all tissue lat the
same time.
Recently the final steps in the preparation and st
these radiated
During the past 1%
ds and tissues from control thyroids were
years the quantitative measurement of DNA in
cor
nuclei was done on these human tissuea.
ng of
lec
individual
Quantitative measurement of DNA in individual nuclei using Feuliger
staining and microspectrophotometry showed considereble variation
lin DNA
than 2 tines the diploid value.
This is as wes observed in the
thyroids of animals which had previously been given 131r and is
as a build up in DNA, but thwarted cell division.
sti
tt a"
content and nuclear volume in some, but not all of tte radiated tiles
Measurements indicated that the amount of DNA in some cells was gre
isjtery
On review of alternate sections stained with the customary hemats
and eosin method, it was found that somewhat fewer of these radiat
tissues displayed bizarre nuclear forms than was observed in our pf
radiated human thyroids described many yerrs ago.
However, four of 12
131r treated patients shoved an abundance of the bizarre miclear fpres in
extranodular tissue.
One of the most obvious was a patient who hai not
been cured of hyperthyroidiam end had been given propylthiouracil before
the cperation.
This drug may have behaved in a fashion compareble to our
animal experiments where an abundance of bizarre nuclear forms devplc
when a similar stimulus was applied. In this case the natural st: alus of
the disease to produce hyperplasia had obviously persisted at the Rime
tissue was obtained.
the
In the other cases following 131I treatwent, it‘is
difficult to know whether a given patient is in a euthyroid state because
the driving force that caused Graves’ disease has abated .¢ whethef the .
force is still there, but the thyroid is so damaged that hyperthyrpidiam
is not possible.
Some of the adenomas which developed in these radiated human gl
were also similarly studied for MIA content of individual nuclei. [Contumors. In the figal analysis, it is not entirely clear which
arose following 1311 and which were present, but not detected, at
131I was given.
It would be particularly interesting to know whick
arose from radiated cells that bore a potential for bizarre nucle
because the tumor was @lready present.
Certainly the former must
tumors
true
in some cases, One follicular adenocarcinoma was encountered in alpatient
tho had heen treated with 131], but unfortunately, the special pregarations
on this neoplasm were not adequate for our studies.
The bizarre