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INFLUENCE OF ADRENAL CORTEX EXTRACT UPON COMPENSATORY HYPERTROPHY OF THE ADRENAL CORTEX

Abstract

When one adrenal is removed the cortex of the remaining gland undergoes hypertrophy.¹ This does not occur if the hypophysis is removed simultaneously, and in time if hypophysectomy is done, the cortex of the remaining gland, or if the animal has both glands, all of the cortical tissue, atrophies.² Cortical repair follows anterior pituitary transplants.³ An anterior pituitary extract is now available which prevents the adrenal cortex atrophy in the hypophysectomized organism and stimulates the cortical tissue in normal animals.⁴ It is fairly obvious that the integrity of the adrenal cortex is, therefore, dependent upon the hypophysis. As far as compensatory hypertrophy of the adrenal cortex is concerned, a reasonable hypothesis is as follows. The maintenance of a normal amount of adrenal cortex tissue is dependent upon the concentration of adrenal cortex hormone circulating in the organism. When one adrenal is removed, the adrenal cortex secretion is reduced and the stimulation received by the other gland from the anterior pituitary becomes increased. A compensatory hypertrophy is the result. If this is true, it might be supposed that an active adrenal cortex extract would reduce or entirely prevent compensatory hypertrophy of the adrenal cortex following unilateral adrenalectomy. Experiments carried out to test this possibility have given a positive result.

Footnotes

^* From the Scripps Metabolic Clinic, La Jolla, California.