Vitamin C and Anaphylactic Shock in Guinea Pigs

Abstract

Abstract Introduction. The following experiments were suggested by an earlier study (1) of the effect of endocrinal preparations on anaphylactic shock in guinea pigs. Special attention had been paid to the effect of prolonged administration of anterior pituitary extract previous to and following sensitization over specified lengths of time. In the conclusions of that article it was emphasized first that administration of this glandular preparation was more efficacious in preventing anaphylactic shock if administered prior to sensitization than after the animal had been sensitized; and secondly, that there seemed to be a correlation between the state of the endocrinal system due to such treatment and the amount of protection that guinea pigs sensitized with horse-serum showed against anaphylactic shock. The question was left open whether this protection was due directly to the anterior pituitary extract or indirectly to the state of the adrenal, thyroid, and sexual glands which, as it is known, undergo changes after administration of an alkaline extract of the anterior pituitary gland.