THE EFFECT OF EPINEPHRINE UPON THE GLUCOSE TOLERANCE AND WORK PERFORMANCE OF THE EVISCERATE RAT

Abstract

It was shown by Ingle and Nezamis (1949) that epinephrine can affect the glucose tolerance of the eviscerate rat and that the nature of the response is related to the experimental conditions. When glucose with insulin was given by constant intravenous injection to eviscerate rats, the addition of epinephrine caused a decrease in glucose tolerance within 2 hours which continued throughout 24 hours. These results were obtained in the inactive anesthetized animal in which the requirement for energy is low. The glucose tolerance of such animals is greatly increased by muscle work (Ingle and Nezamis, 1948) and it is well known that epinephrine has the property of increasing the work output of fatigued muscle. It was therefore proposed to study the effect of epinephrine upon the glucose tolerance and work performance of adrenalectomized and non-adrenalectomized eviscerate rats. It was shown by this study that adrenalectomy causes a decrease in work output during the first 2 hours following operation associated with a small decrease in the level of blood glucose.