EFFECTS OF A BACTERIAL POLYSACCHARIDE (PIROMEN) ON THE PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS: FURTHER ASPECTS OF HYPOPHYSEAL-MEDIATED CONTROL OF RESPONSE

Abstract

THE bacterial polysaccharide complex, Piromen®, has afforded clinical relief in a number of allergic conditions (1-5). Part of this therapeutic usefulness may be credited to a capacity for activating the pituitary axis and increasing adrenocortical secretion (6–10). From the standpoint of metabolism, the pattern of stimulation of the pituitary-adrenal system by this preparation has been shown to have certain individual characteristics (11). For example, the significant positive nitrogen balance which follows intravenous injection of larger amounts (100 μg.) of Piromen is not easily reconcilable with the more typical cortical-metabolic sequelae which also accompany it (eosinopenia, increased corticoid excretion). Similar changes in the endocrine system have been observed in the animal; the response, reflected in the pattern of adrenal ascorbic acid, cholesterol content and cellular alterations in the adrenal cortex of the rat, has been described in an earlier report (12). Some aspects in these indices of cortical stimulation resembled those which follow the administration