THE EFFECT OF ETHYL ALCOHOL ON ADRENAL CORTICAL ACTIVITY IN MICE12

Abstract

IT HAS been suggested that a hypofunction of the pituitary-adrenal system may be an important factor in the etiology of chronic alcoholism (1-5). Accordingly, treatment of alcoholic states using ACTH and/or adrenocortical steroid hormones has been attempted (3, 61-11). Although no animal experiments have been reported which would relate chronic alcoholism to a pituitary-adrenal dysfunction, depletion of the adrenal ascorbic acid and cholesterol content was found following acute alcohol intoxication in intact rats (4, 12), and Guinea pigs (13, 14, 15). In this study, the “thymo-regressive response” (16) has been utilized to make qualitative and quantitative evaluations of the increase in adrenocortical activity associated with acute alcoholic intoxication.