Adrenal Cortex and Lipid Metabolism: Effects of Cortisone and Adreno-corticotropin (ACTH) on Serum Lipids in Man

Abstract

There was an avg. increase of 15% in total serum cholesterol of 15 patients who received cortisone. Phosopholipids increased an avg. 26% with 14 of the 15 showing this change. Neutral fat decreased an avg. of 51%. The described changes occurred in 2 patients even while they were maintained on a fat-free, cholesterol-free, salt-free diet (Kempner regimen). After cortisone was stopped, there was a reversal of the previous trend; i.e., the cholesterol and phos-pholipids fell, and the neutral fat rose so that the values eventually approached those of the control periods. In contrast to the effects of cortisone, ACTH produced less pronounced changes in the serum lipids. The overall avg. for the group under ACTH showed an increase of 4% in total serum cholesterol and 9% in the phospholipids and an avg. decrease of 16% in the neutral fat. The fasting sera of 7 of the 15 cortisone-treated patients and 3 of the 12 ACTH patients became turbid ("lipemic").