A comparison of the effects of cortisone and deoxycorticosterone on various aspects of organic and inorganic metabolism

Abstract

Adrenal-ectomy causes a fall in the level of hexose phosphates and a rise in phosphocreatine and adenosine triphosphate of rat muscle. The hexose phosphate levels are restored towards normal by cortisone (cort.) and by desoxycorticosterone (desoxy.), cort. being more effective. Neither hormone (horm.) has any effect on the levels of these substances in normal rats. On a low-Na intake both cort. and desoxy. increase the plasma Na and decrease the plasma K levels of normal rats, cort. showing the greater effect. In a high-Na intake neither horm. affects appreciably the plasma Na, even after a 20-day period of injn., but both hormones lower the plasma K level and here desoxy. has a greater effect. In adrenalec. rats both horm. are effective in reversing the changes in plasma and muscle Na and K; here again the relative effectiveness of the 2 horm. is dependent on the dietary Na, cort. being more effective with low-Na intake. The muscle changes appear to be secondary to the plasma changes. Cort. is more effective than desoxy. in reducing the increased muscle-water content occurring after adrenalec. Cort. and desoxy. have opposite effects on the wt. changes of normal and adrenalec. rats, cort. causing a marked decrease which is probably related to its effect in increasing urinary nitrogen excretion. No apparent effect of either horm. on the permeability of frog sartorius muscle to Na24 or K42 was seen.