FAILURE OF SALT REPLACEMENT THERAPY IN ADRENALECTOMIZED RECENTLY CAPTURED WILD NORWAY RATS1

Abstract

Adrenalectomy had essentially the same effect in wild and domesticated Norway rats kept on "salt-poor" diets. The survival times avg. 8.5 days and 9.5 days, respectively. Replacement therapy with salt after adrenalectomy had very different effect in the 2 strains. Whereas it kept only 2% of wild Norway rats alive, it kept 87% of domesticated rats alive. Their state of chronic tension and their violent reaction to acute disturbing stimuli were the probable causes of death of the adrenalectomized wild rats.