ALDOSTERONE EXCRETION IN PREGNANCY*

Abstract

FOLLOWING the isolation and characterization of the salt-retaining factor of the adrenal cortex by Simpson et al. (1), considerable interest has been aroused regarding its regulatory action on electrolyte and fluid balance. The original observation of Deming and Luetscher (2) that this hormone, now called aldosterone, is excreted in increased amounts in edematous conditions has been confirmed by other investigators. In earlier studies, Chart et al. (3), Venning et al. (4) and Gordon et al. (5) found that patients with toxemia of pregnancy excreted relatively large amounts of a sodium-retaining factor, whereas in the normal gravid woman amounts only slightly above those in the non-pregnant state were observed. Recently, using acid and β-glucuronidase hydrolysed urine, Venning and Dyrenfurth (6) reported that normal pregnant women at term excrete from 16 to 34 micrograms (μg.) of aldosterone per day in comparison with the normal range of from 1 to 6 μg. per day for non-gravid women. In the present study we have measured aldosterone excretion throughout gestation and have attempted to correlate the output of this hormone with clinical findings.