The effect of the administration of cortisol on the levels of cortisol and electrolytes in blood and cerebrospinal fluid in man

Abstract

In some patients with brain tumor, neurosurgery involving ventricular drainage and ventriculography resulted in an increase in the sodium level in cerebrospinal fluid without any modification of its level in blood. In these patients, the effects of the administration of cortisol on the levels of corticosteroids, sodium, and potassium in blood and cerebrospinal fluid were studied. After the administration of cortisol, the corticosteroid levels in blood and cerebrospinal fluid were markedly increased. When patients had normal levels of sodium in cerebrospinal fluid, cortisol administration did not affect these sodium levels. However, when the sodium level in cerebrospinal fluid was high, the sodium level decreased 2 to 4 hr after the administration of cortisol. In all these patients, the sodium and potassium levels in blood were not influenced by cortisol administration. This finding may have bearing upon the apparent beneficial action of adrenal cortical hormones on cerebral edema following trauma or brain surgery.