Comparison of water and saline hydration on diuretic action of sympathomimetic agents.

Abstract

THE relationship of the adrenal medulla to water diuresis was first investigated by Stein and Wertheimer (1944). They reported that adrenal-medullectomy inhibited diuresis in water hydrated animals. The injection of 1-epinephrine returned the diuresis to normal and was also noted to increase chloride excretion. Similar diuretic and chloruretic effects of epinephrine were obtained in normal animals. This action of epinephrine in normal animals was confirmed, but adrenal medullectomy was reported to be without effect on diuresis (Gaunt, Liling and Cordsen, 1945). However, it is known that epinephrine will increase the diuresis in untreated adrenalectomized rats and in adrenalectomized rats maintained on desoxy-corticosterone (Hays and Mathieson, 1945; Gaunt et al., 1945). Recent studies have shown that nor-epinephrine is present in the adrenal gland and in commercial preparations of epinephrine (Tuller, 1949; Goldenberg, et al., 1949; Auerbach and Angell, 1949). Because of the many differences in action of epinephrine and nor-epinephrine it is of interest to compare their diuretic properties.