Taste thresholds for phenylthiourea were measured among 900 Caucasoid leprous patients and among 1000 healthy Caucasoid control males, of the State of São Paulo, Brazil.

The frequency of non-tasters among the leprous sample (19.7%) is significantly lower than that found among the healthy sample (24.7%). These results suggest a correlation between taste ability to phenylthourea and leprosy.

Taste thresholds for phenylthiourea were measured among 100 females, during the menstruation and in non-menstrual period.

The results cannot support any influence of menstruation on taste threshold for phenylthiourea.

The taste thresholds of 315 lepromatous patients confined more than four years in a Leprosarium was determined. These patients were ascribed to three clinical groups according to their clinical and bacilloscopical regression during the treatment.

The data obtained show no correlation between tasting and clinical conditions.

Among the 85,976 children born at the «Istituto Ospitaliero Provinciale per la Maternità di Milano» from January 1st 1942 through December 31st 1962, 1185 newborn infants have

been observed with one or more congenital malformations, i. e. with a frequency of 13,8°/°°. Distribution of this material in a first period of six years and in three subsequent quinquennia, and comparison of the frequencies of the subjects with malformations observed in the various periods allow us to draw the following conclusions:

1) in the period 1942-1962, especially in the latest years, the total frequency of congenital malformations has not exhibited significant variations;

2) the frequency of harelip and/or cleft-palate, omphalocele, hypospadia, polydactily, hypodactily and syndactily appears rather uniform. The same applies, as a whole, to CNS malformations, though a certain heterogeneity has been found in the frequencies of rachischisis observed in the various periods;

3 ) as for mongoloid, dysmyelitic and club-foot subjects a significant heterogeneity of the frequencies observed in the various quinquennia has been demonstrated.