EXCRETION OF GLYCOGENIC CORTICOIDS AND OF 17-KETOSTEROIDS IN VARIOUS ENDOCRINE AND OTHER DISORDERS

Abstract

The use of the bioassay of adrenal cortical substances in urine, having the property of depositing glycogen in the liver of the adrenalectomized mouse has been compared with the estimation of the total neutral 17-ketosteroids. The excretion of glycogenic corticoids and 17-ketosteroids was studied in cases of Addison''s disease, panhypopituitarism with organic lesion of the pituitary, anorexia nervosa, active Cushing''s syndrome, simple hirsutism and acromegaly. The ketosteroids and glycogenic corticoids frequently do not parallel each other. The one may be high and the other normal or low or the reverse. A group of miscellaneous cases is presented indicating the usefulness of the glycogenic corticoid detn. in obscure cases suspected of having adrenal dysfunction. A general review of various methods of measuring adrenal cortical function in clinical conditions is presented and the sources of error of each is discussed. It is suggested that the 3 main types of function of the adrenal: (1) electrolyte metabolism, (2) protein and carbohydrate metabolism and (3) androgenic production may vary independently of one another, qualitatively and quantitatively, thus leading to a variety of metabolic conditions and clinical syndromes. The use of the detn. of glycogenic corticoids offers a further method of estimating one type of adrenal cortical function in health and disease.