Abstract
THE exotoxin of virulent diphtheria bacilli represents an extreme example of a potent biochemical stressor in susceptible mammalian species. Giroud et al.1 have shown that in animals intoxicated with a lethal dose of diphtheria toxin, the hormone content of the adrenal cortex is diminished by as much as two thirds. Attempts to influence the course of diphtheria toxaemia through the use of cortical hormones or adrenocorticotrophic hormone have met with no success2,3,4, although a decrease in adrenal haemorrhages has been noted5.
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