THE MELANOPHORE REACTION AS A TEST FOR ACTH IN THE BLOOD

Abstract

In patients who should have had elevated plasma ACTH levels (adrenal insufficiency in crisis, postoperative patients) the melanophore expanding effect of protein-free serum extracts was not different from that seen in control patients. The test animals were shown to be sensitive to 0.0001 I.U. of commercial ACTH. The author believes melanophore activity of the plasma is not necessarily connected with ACTH activity in human beings.