Effect of a High Salt Diet on Survival of Adrenalectomized Rats

Abstract

That NaCl is beneficial in the treatment of experimental adrenal insufficiency was established by the earlier work of Stewart and Rogoff,1 Banting and Gairns,2 Marine and Baumann,3 and Corey;4 and the recent work of Loeb et al,5, 6 Harrop et al,7 Swingle et al,8 Zwemer,9 and Rubin and Krick.10A consensus of the findings is that NaCl feeding in dogs and cats will prolong, but not indefinitely maintain, life after total adrenal ablation. Rubin and Krick found, however, that in 8 rats a drinking solution of 0.0329% CaCl2, 0.015% MgCl, 0.07% NaCl and 0.035% KCl given upon the appearance of adrenal insufficiency symptoms, would maintain life for 4 months or more in animals which normally would not live longer than 10 days. At the time of their publication these authors had apparently not determined, by discontinuing treatment, whether accessory adrenals had assumed a functional condition. From their work it would appear that the rat, unlike the cat and dog, will live indefinitely if fed a high salt diet after ...