Effect of Cortisone and Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH) on Experimental Scurvy in the Guinea Pig.

Abstract

-Exptl. scurvy was induced in the guinea pig by an autoclaved diet prepared by the method of Wolbach and Howe. Cortisone was admd. to 1 group, ACTH to a 2d group, and 1 group remained untreated. In all of these animals, the adrenal ascorbic acid at death was too low to be measurable. The effects of cortisone and ACTH were similar in delaying the onset of the general manifestations of scurvy, in decreasing the extent of h emorrhagic phenomena, and in prolonging life, although all animals eventually died of scurvy. The absolute adrenal gland wt., and the ratio of adrenal wt. to body wt., were increased above normal in all scorbutic animals, being greatest in the ACTH-treated, and nearest the normal in the cortisone-treated group. Microscopic studies of the adrenal gland in the ACTH-treated animals revealed intense hypertrophy and increased granularity interpreted as indicative of an actively secreting gland. Further evidence of secretion of cortisone-like steroids in the ACTH-treated group was provided by the initial wt. gain paralleling that of the cortisone-treated animals, and also by production of pulmonary edema terminally. In addition, the protective effect of cortisone was duplicated by ACTH. Thus, cortisone-like steroids can be produced by the scorbutic guinea pig despite absence of measurable adrenal ascorbic acid, and the admn. of cortisone and ACTH ameliorate the manifestations of scurvy in a parallel fashion, by a mechanism as yet unknown.