THE THYROID-OVARIAN SYNDROME 95 



The thyroid gland is concerned chiefly with catabolic 

 metabolism, hyperfunction resulting in rapid loss of 

 weight, hypofunction in adiposity. In addition to 

 changes in metabolic activity, dysfunction is also mani- 

 fested by various nervous symptoms, hyperfunction by 

 excessive nervous irritability, hypofunction by mental 

 sluggishness. The functions of the ovary are by no 

 means as clearly manifested. One obvious function of 

 that organ is the production of ova, and another much 

 less understood function is that of the control of the 

 secondary sexual characteristics. This function is to 

 some extent controlled by the interstitial chroma- 

 tophilic cells and these probably are similar in charac- 

 ter to the interstitial cells of Leydig found in the testes. 



The thyroid-ovarian syndrome is a "forme fruste" of 

 dysfunction either of one gland individually, or of both 

 glands concurrently. Isolated phases of the syndrome 

 have been described as clinical entities, but as far as a 

 thorough search of the literature reveals, no one has 

 grouped the various symptoms as a distinctive syn- 

 drome. 



Strangely enough, the syndrome may occur in either 

 male or female, though the female was affected in 

 forty-one of the forty-five cases which we have thus far 

 observed. In the male, testicular dysfunction replaces 

 dysovarism. The onset of symptoms may be at any 

 period after the beginning of puberty, the age incidence 

 in the present series being twenty to thirty years, five 

 cases; thirty to forty years, sixteen cases; forty to 

 fifty years, twenty cases; fifty to seventy years, four 

 cases. No etiological factor other than the possible 

 influence of heredity is in evidence. Sister, or sister 

 and brother, were affected in twenty instances, while 

 in eight other cases near blood relatives, L e., mother, 

 were said to be similarly diseased, though these eight 

 have not been personally examined. 



