Word: acth
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...prime puzzles of chemistry is that biological dynamite, ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone). Secreted in microscopic quantities by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain, it acts as a concertmaster, controlling by subtle hints of its chemical baton the equally subtle operations of the adrenal cortex. The cortex, properly stimulated, secretes hormones that control many activities of the body, including growth and reproduction...
...ACTH, expensively extracted from the pituitary glands of cattle, also helps many a disease, such as arthritis, but the magic compound, unfortunately, is anything but simple. It is a polypeptide, a large molecule (molecular weight 4,500) made up of many amino-acid units arranged in a long chain. Chemists have puzzled over its structure for years, but have learned only bits and scraps about it. Polypeptides (related to proteins) are baffling things to deal with...
...Growth (somatotropic) hormone, ACTH (adrenocorticotropic), thyroid-stimulating (thyrotropic) hormone and, in women, three that regulate the reproductive cycle: follicle-stimulating (FSH), luteinizing (LH) and prolactin...
...Bethesda, Md. In Reeve's left wrist was a hypodermic needle from which rubber tubing ran to an infusion bottle hanging from a stand on casters. This elaborate rig, which Reeve moved along with him, was needed to keep him from being immobilized for eight hours while ACTH dripped slowly into his veins so that research doctors could study what happened to hormones in Reeve's bloodstream...
...Preceding Reeve in a similar drip test was 20-year-old Arthur Birk (Brethren) of Teegarden, Ind. As soon as the doctors had learned what they could about the effect of ACTH on his adrenals' output of electrocortin, they put him on a salt-free diet. All he had to do was to promise not to take any food or drink away from the center. He could work on its house newspaper or play golf or go into Bethesda for the movies. But it was no snap: he lost 15 pounds in a week...