SUBSTITUTION OF HYPOPHYSECTOMY BY THE ADMINISTRATION OF CHLORPROMAZINE IN THE ASSAY OF CORTICOTROPHIN

Abstract

Chorpromazine (cp) was tested as a substitute for surgical hypophysectomy in the Sayers test for corticotrophin. Ten mg cp/100 g body weight, given two hours before laparotomy, markedly inhibited, but did not completely prevent, the release of corticotrophin as measured by the adrenal ascorbic acid depletion test. When rats were treated this way, the average ascorbic acid depletion was smaller than in experiments with hypophysectomized rats, but the response was proportional to the logarithm of the dose of ACTH. However, the spread of the individual values was much greater in the cp rats than in the hypophysectomized animals. Cp itself produced an ascorbic acid depletion.