Prolongation of Lifespan in the Old Rat by Adrenal and Neurohypophyseal Hormones

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The disturbance in salt and water balance in the old rat, as in man, can be described and treated as a blunted type of diabetes insipidus. The absence of full diabetes insipidus despite the evident neurohypophyseal insufficiency might reflect concurrently low or abnormal adrenal cortical activity. The gain of Na and loss of K in muscle and the fact that aldosterone is badly tolerated indicates that adrenal mineralocortical function, at least in relative terms, is more than adequate. In this experiment, combined treatment with whole posterior pituitary powder and cortlsol in old rats (27 months of age at the start) resulted in a marked prolongation of average lifespan associated with visible improvement in general condition and a reduction in the rate of water turnover. The benefit was sustained through a 3-month period.

This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit: