ON THE HORMONAL REGULATION OF VASOMOTOR REACTIONS DURING EXERCISE WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE ACTION OF ADRENAL CORTICAL STEROIDS

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Abstract
The effect of hydrocortisate in pigs with hereditary muscular degeneration (MD) was studied during 10 min of moderate exercise and over a following 50 min period of resting. The MD pigs revealed grave symptoms of dyspnea, cyanosis and exhaustion when exercised, whereas all symptoms did not appear after pre-treatment with hydrocortisate which also increased the lactic acid output in the blood to normal levels. The mechanism of vasomotor reactions was discussed on the basis of these results and it was concluded that adrenal cortical hormones hold a key position in the complex of reactions governing vaso-dilation in skeletal muscles. An antagonistic reaction between epinephrine and cortisone was suggested. In the hypothalamus and more especially in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei changes in the MD pig are similar to those found in human patients suffering from acute delirium. The authors suggested that the excessive stress-reactions in MD pigs and the vacuolization and the chromophobia of the autonomic centers is a forced reaction in order to stimulate the pituitary-adrenal cortex system adequately through an increased release of corticotropin.