EFFECTS IN THE DOG OF INFUSION OF ADRENAL CORTICAL EXTRACT ON EXERCISE TOLERANCE, BLOOD CONSTITUENTS AND ADRENAL CORTEX1

Abstract

THE ASTHENIA and susceptibility to fatigue manifest in adrenal insufficiency, and the relief afforded by administration of adrenal cortical extract, have led to the suggestion that cortical extract might increase exercise tolerance and postpone fatigue in the normal animal. In the normal rat, however, very large doses of cortical extract have been found to cause cortical atrophy (Ingle, Higgins and Kendall, 1938); this property was found peculiar to those components with an oxygen on Cn (Wells and Kendall, 1940), although Selye (1940) claims to have found desoxycorticosterone effective. The experiments described herewith were undertaken to determine whether repeated intravenous infusion of whole cortical extract in the normal dog would affect a) the exercise tolerance, b) thelevel-of blood constituents related to adrenal cortical activity, or c) the histologic structure and bulk of the adrenal cortex. METHODS Six dogs, weighing 16 to 30 pounds, were used for the study of exercise