Action of Antidiuretic Hormone in Potassium-Depleted Rats; Relation to Aldosteronism

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Abstract
Rats were depleted of K and half the group was injected with antidiuretic hormone (ADH) when mildly depleted, moderately depleted and severely depleted; simultaneously, half the rats on stock diet were given ADH. The action of ADH was enhanced in the presence of mild K depletion; in moderate K depletion the antidiuretic effect of ADH was diminished; in severe K depletion ADH produced prompt polyuria. These results suggest that the lack of edema, and the presence of polyuria in primary aldosteronism are due to ineffectiveness or to blocking of endogenous ADH, not as a result of a direct antagonistic action of aldosterone, but as a result of the K depletion.