EFFECTS OF VAGOLYTIC DRUG ON CIRCADIAN-RHYTHM OF PLASMA CORTISOL AND URINARY 17-HYDROXY-CORTICOSTEROIDS IN MAN

  • 1 January 1977
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 38  (3) , 203-213
Abstract
The circadian rhythm of plasma cortisol and urinary 17-hydroxy-corticosteroids was studied in 6 normal volunteers in basal conditions and after administration of a single dose of 30 mg of a banthine derivative (the .beta.-methyl-.beta.-isopropylaminoethyl ester bromide of xantene-9-carbonic acid, Pervagal) given orally once a day at different hours (midnight, 4 a.m., 8 a.m., noon, 4 p.m., 8 p.m.). The vagolytic drug inhibits cortisol secretion only when administered at 4 p.m., 8 p.m. or midnight, whereas it is ineffective when given at different hours. If circadian variations of the bioavailability of the drug do not exist, in human beings and experimental animals, the cholinergic mechanisms appear to be overall if not exclusively in starting the circadian activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal system.