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Jan Wolff and Israel L. Chaikoff

1925–; 1902–1966

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Abstract

In 1948, Drs. Jan Wolff and Israel L. Chaikoff published their landmark study on the Wolff–Chaikoff effect at University of California (UC) at Berkeley. Their discovery laid the foundation for further research into thyroid physiology and iodine metabolism. It also carried important implications regarding the medical uses of iodine, including its role in nuclear accident prophylaxis. This chapter describes the discovery of the Wolff–Chaikoff effect, its implications, and the lives of Drs. Wolff and Chaikoff.

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References

  1. Wolff J, Chaikoff IL. Plasma inorganic iodide as a homeostatic regulator of thyroid function. J Biol Chem. 1948;174(2):555–64.

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  2. Eng PH, Cardona GR, Fang SL, et al. Escape from the acute Wolff–Chaikoff effect is associated with a decrease in thyroid sodium/iodide symporter messenger ribonucleic acid and protein. Endocrinology. 1999;140(8):3404–10.

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Acknowledgments

A special thanks to Dr. Jan Wolff for sharing his experiences and expertise.

Editors’ Note: We want to thank the authors and Dr. Wolff for taking the time to get together with the authors to provide such exquisite detail for this chapter.

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Correspondence to Michael W. Yeh MD .

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Wu, J., Ro, K., Yeh, M. (2015). Jan Wolff and Israel L. Chaikoff. In: Pasieka, J., Lee, J. (eds) Surgical Endocrinopathies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13662-2_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13662-2_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-13661-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-13662-2

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