20

shownin Figure 8. Because of language barriers,

Table 13

such tests are difficult to carry out. Cultural,

Assay for Human Growth Hormone (HGH)
in Exposed Marshallese Children
Subject

No.

Timeafter

insulin, min

Blood glucose,

mg/100 ml

HGH,

ng, ml*

2

25

31.6

4.0

3

30

89.6

< 2.0

33

25

34.0

6
8

54

a+

65
65
83

25
23
15

30

i5
27
30

26.9
29.0
67.1

35.6

33.6
22.6
38.1

< 2.0
5.0

<2.0

<2.0

3.0

4.0
2.0
3.0

*Assayed by Dr. J. Roth, National Institutes of Health,
Bethesda, Maryland. The normalfasting 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 summarizedelsewhere 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 specimens obtained from
8 exposed Marshallese children. After an over-

night fast, crystalline insulin was injected intravenously at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg body weight.
Blood was drawnat 15 and 30 min. Theexisting
circumstancesin 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 thougha higherlevel of growth
hormonesecretion might have occurred ifhypoglycemia had been prolonged, measurable amounts
of human growth hormonewere found in all children tested. The 2 markedly physically retarded
boys were amongthe8 studied. Whenit is noted
that TSH secretion is also adequate in these chil-

dren (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 numberofchildren. Someof the drawings are

social, and educationalvariables also complicate
the scoring. The figures are being analyzed with
the hope that numerical scores may provide some
measure of mental development in the growthretarded children.
A detailed analysis of the growth and development data on the Marshallese children during the
period 1958 through 1963 has been published.”
The analysis has been extended to include the
growth measurements for 1964 and 1965. In 1966
the unexposed (control) children were not exam-

ined. The trends revealed previously have con-

tinued. Amongthe girls, there is no significantdif-

ference between exposed and unexposed children

in either the statural or weight curves (Figures 9

and 10). Thereis no significant difference in body
weight between exposed and unexposed boys(Figure 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 expo-

sure is considered (Figure 13}. Thus, boys exposed

at ages >6 years show nodifference in statural
growth from that of unexposed boys. Boys exposed
at ages 2 years and younger show the most prom-

inent retardation. Analysis this year indicates that

boys exposed at 3 to 5 years of age are also show-

ing somelag in statural growth. Children born to
exposed parents have demonstrated nosignificant
difference in statural and weight growth as com-

pared with children born to unexposed parents
(Figures 14 to 17).

Skeletal age assessmrents 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
and girls) fall to the right of the curves for the unexposed, the differences are not statistically signifi-

cant. 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
Americanchildren.

Since September 1965 the exposed children

have been given courses of thyroid hormone.

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