20

shown in Figure 8. Because of language barriers,

such tests are difficult to carry out. Cultural,
social, and educational variables ajgo complicate

Table 13
Assay for Human Growth Hormone (HGH)

the scoring. The figures are being analyzed with

in Exposed Marshallese Children
mg/100 ml

HGH,

ne/ml*

the hope that numerical scores may providesome
measure of mental developmentéin the growthretarded children.

25
30
25
25
25

31.6
89.6
26.9
29.0
34.0

4.0
<2.0
<2.0
5.0
<2.0

mentdata on the Marshallese children during the
period 1958 through 1963 has been published.’'
The analysis-has—-been extended to include the

54

15

67.1

< 2.0

65

65

15

27

33.6

4.0

44

30

38.1]

3.0

Subject

No.

Time after

insulin, min

Blood glucose,

2
4
b
8
33
34

Q)

35.6
22.6

3.0
2.0

*Assayed by Dr. J. Roth, National Institutes of Health,

Bethesda, Maryland. The normal fasting level is 0 to 3.0
nanograms/mi, with at least a 3- to 5-fold rise 60 min

after insulin injection.

tosplenomegaly. Another child (No. 1055), also
born to nonexposed parents, had diagnosticstigmata of mongolism. The results of examinations of
the neck and thyroid gland are summarized eisewhere in this report. With the exception of the
thyroid nodules, no correlation between the devel-

opment of abnormalities in children and exposure
to radiation could be suggested.
In 1965 assays for human growth hormone
levels were done on blood specimensobtained from
8 exposed Marshallese children. After an overnight fast, crystalline insulin was injected tntravenously at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg body weight.
Blood was drawn at 15 and 30 min. The existing
circumstances in the field precluded the continuation of the hypoglycemic state beyond 30 min. The
hormone values were determined by the method

of Glick et al.'" The results are summarized in
Table 13. Even though a higher level of growth
hormone secretion might have occurred if hypoglycemia had been prolonged, measurable amounts
of human growth hormonewerefound in all children tested. The 2 markedly physically retarded
boys were among the 8 studied. Whenit is noted
that TSH secretion is also adequatein these children (see section on thyroid gland), the results

qualitatively document the existence of anterior
pituitary gland function.
Goodenough “Draw a Man” tests*” were taken
by a number of children. Some of the drawings are

A detailed analysis of the growth and develop-

growth measurements for 1964 and 1965, In 1966
the unexposed

ined. The trer@¥

4gontrol) children were not exam-

revealed previously have con-

tinued. Amongthegirls, there is no significant difference between exposed andunexposed children
in either the statural or weight curves (Figures 9

and 10)."There is no significant difference in body
weight between exposed and unexposed boys (Fig-

ure 11). Among the boys only, the statural growth
of the exposed lags below that of the unexposed
subjects (Figures 12 and 13). This difference in
stature is better delineated when age at exposure is considered (Figure 13). Thus, boys exposed
at ages >6 years show no difference in statural
growth from that of unexposed boys. Boys exposed
at ages 2 years and younger show the most prominent retardation. Analysis this year indicates that
boys exposed at 3 to 5 years of age are also showing some lag in statural growth. Children born to
exposed parents have demonstrated nosignificant
difference in statural and weight growth as compared with children born to unexposed parents
(Figures 14 to 17).

Skeletal age assessments by the method of
Greulich and Pyle*’ have been plotted against
chronological age in boys (Figure 18) and in girls
(Figure 19). The lines represent the best fitting
linear relationships by the least-squares method.
While the curves for the exposed group (both boys
andgirls) fall to the right of the curves for the unexposed, the differences are notstatistically significant. The points representing the markedly growthretarded boys are immediately apparent from inspection. The graphsalso indicate that the skeletal
age assessments at given chronological ages for the
Marshallese boys andgirls are lower (by about 6
to 12 months) than the Greulich-Pyle standardsfor
American children.
Since September 1965 the exposed children
have been given courses of thyroid hormone.

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