PRODUCTION OF REVERSIBLE HYPERADRENOCORTINISM IN RATS BY PROLONGED ADMINISTRATION OF CORTISONE

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Abstract
With the use of cortisone in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and allied conditions (Hench, Kendall, Slocumb and Polley, 1949; Hench, Slocumb, Barnes, Smith, Polley and Kendall, 1949), signs of hyperadrenocortinism may be expected in at least some cases treated over a prolonged period of time. Reactions consisting of one or more of the manifestations of Cushing’s syndrome have been observed in a small percentage of patients treated with cortisone (Sprague, 1949). It was therefore of interest to determine in animals what signs of hyperadrenocortinism could be produced by daily administration of large doses of cortisone, and particularly whether the effects observed were reversible after cessation of treatment with the hormone. MATERIALS AND METHODS The animals used in this study were male Holtzman rats, all of the same shipment and weighing between 180 and 210 gm. The animals were housed in individual cages and fed a stock diet, with water ad libitum.