FURTHER EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS CONCERNING RELATIONSHIP OF MUSCULAR EXERCISE AND ADRENAL-FUNCTION

  • 1 January 1975
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 66  (3) , 285-291
Abstract
The relationship between muscular work and adrenal function was investigated by using daily swimming exercise in the rat. Adrenal in vitro sensitivity to ACTH increased after 6 wk of swimming training. Muscular exercise played the main part in the development of adaptation; a conditioning of the animals merely to the circumstances of swimming failed to stimulate the adaptive changes seen in the course of regular physical training. Plasma steroid response to certain stressor agents, such as histamine or acute exhaustion (plasma steroid response decreased), or to ACTH administration (plasma steroid response increased) was similar in ACTH-pretreated and regularly exercised animals. In the 6-12th wk of exercise trained animals developed a lower plasma steroid content at rest than controls; this was retained even 4 wk after training sessions ceased. Experimental physical training reduced post-exercise steroidemia in the period of adaptation, i.e., after the 6th wk. After a pause of 4 wk, post-exercise steroidemia approached the control values. Recent human studies on this topic are discussed.

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