Experimental hypothalamic dysfunction in dogs.

The authors demonstrate an experimental model in dogs developed in order to study endocrine disorders as a result of suprasellar space occupying lesion. Fogarty balloon catheters were inserted in dogs below the optic chiasm and filled with contrast medium. The study of thyroid function shows that initially reversible hypothalamic hypothyroidism develops and that in a second stage most animals develop chronic thyroid dysfunction which is irreversible even after careful removal of the experimental tumor. The clinical symptoms correlate with these findings. Morphological examinations prove the fact that the hypothalamic disorders are due to disturbances of the blood-brain-barrier in the hypothalamus following hypothalamic compression and decompression.