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News from the Secretary |
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News from the Secretary |
Mr Hans Graf, MD
Secretary-Treasurer
Latin American Thyroid SocietyAmsterdam, 15 October 2001
Dear Dr. Graf,
For almost 25 years we have been maintaining a strain of Dutch goats, in which a mutation, described by Veenboer and De Vijlder (Endocrinology 132(1): pp 377-381; 1993) occurs in the gene coding for thyroglobulin. The animals have been used for many research projects. Animals that are homozygous for the defect show goiter and are severely to mildly hypothyroid, depending on the amount of iodine administered. High doses of iodine can even make these animals euthyroid, but goiter remains. Also during pregnancy, the hypothyroid state of the fetus can be influenced by giving the pregnant goat various amounts of iodine. A prenatal diagnosis can be made by measuring the urinary excretion of iodinated material of low molecular weight in the second half of the pregnancy.
This strain of goats still presents an interesting model for clinical and physiological studies, but the institutes are not willing to pay the expenses for maintaining these goats if they are not used for further research. For this reason we are offering these animals to anyone who can use them for research purposes. If we cannot find an interested party we have no other alternative than to give up this strain of goats. As we are convinced that these animals can still be used for various types of research, it would be a real pity if this strain disappears.
We ask you, as Secretary-Treasurer of the Latin American Thyroid Society, to publish the attached addendum in your next newsletter.
Sincerely yours,
Jan J.M. de Vijlder, MSc, PhD
Professor of Biochemistry esp.
Pathology of the Thyroid Gland
Laboratory of Pediatric Endocrinology
Emma Children's Hospital AMC / H2-258
e-mail: j.j.devijlder@amc.uva.nl
