Study of sodium bromide in human volunteers, with special emphasis on the endocrine system

1 Bromide, 1 mg kg-1 daily, was administered to 21 healthy volunteers (11 females not using oral contraceptives and not pregnant and 10 males, during 8 weeks or 2 full cycles to determine whether ingestion of a dose equal to the acceptable daily intake might induce effects. Special attention was paid to the endocrine system because endocrine changes were predominant in rats receiving sodium bromide (NaBr) in their diets. 2 There was no difference between the results of a full medical history and physical examination at the start and at the end of the experiment. 3 The results from the measured haematological, biochemical and urine analyses did not change during the experiment. 4 In females the plasma bromide concentration rose from 0.08 +/- 0.01 mmol 1(-1) to 0.97 +/- 0.18 mmol 1(-1) and in males from 0.08 +/- 0.01 mmol 1(-1) to 0.83 +/- 0.09 mmol 1(-1) (mean +/- s.d.). 5 No changes were observed in the serum concentrations of thyroxine, free thyroxine, thyroxin binding globulin, triiodothyronine, cortisol, testosterone, estradiol and progesterone. Also no changes were observed in the serum concentrations of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), prolactin, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) before and after the administration of thyroid stimulating hormone releasing hormone (TRH) and luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH).