THE EFFECT OF CORTISONE ON THE COURSE OF PARABIOTIC HYPERTENSION IN THE RAT*

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Abstract
SPONTANEOUS evolution of hypertension in rats placed in parabiosis has been described (Hall and Hall, 1951a, b, c). The condition, always confined to one member of a pair, is commonly accompanied by widespread cardiovascular damage consisting of myocarditis, renal arteriolosclerosis and glomerulosclerosis and periarteritis. The frequent occurrence of arthritis in such rats makes the syndrome strikingly similar to that which develops in rats treated with desoxycorticosterone acetate (DCA) (Selye et al., 1943), and suggests that adrenal hyperactivity with respect to mineralocorticoids may be important in the pathogenesis of the syndrome. There is abundant evidence, both clinical and experimental, relating adrenal cortical hyperactivity and hypertension; some of which has recently been reviewed by Corcoran (1950). It is not surprising therefore that adrenal cortical preparations have been widely used in an attempt to modify the course of both clinical and experimental hypertension, perhaps with a view to depressing adrenal activity.