Role of various endocrine glands in the pathogenesis of the neurologic symptoms of lumbar osteochondrosis

: Parathyroid hormone, thyrocalciotonin, testosterone, estradiol, aldosterone and renin activity of the blood plasma were radioimmunoassayed in 142 patients with neurological manifestations of lumbar osteochondritis. The blood levels of parathyroid hormone and, to a lesser degree, those of thyrocalciotonin were elevated. The levels depended on the severity and duration of the pain syndrome while thyrocalciotonin excretion depended on the degree of the degenerative dystrophic process in the spinal column. Prolonged pain syndrome was associated with an inhibited function of the gonads and the mineralocorticoid layer of the adrenals. A hypothesis is advanced, which explains the participation of the endocrine glands in the etiopathogenesis of lumbar osteochondritis and its neurological manifestations.