Pituitary Inhibitory Effects of Digitoxin and Hydrocortisone.

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Abstract
Digitoxin and hydrocortisone administered in a dose of 0.5 mg/100 g body weight daily did not significantly affect the body weight of rats, although 1 mg/100 g of hydrocortisone given daily did markedly inhibit growth. Digitoxin and hydrocortisone caused atrophy of the adrenal glands but had no effect on the absolute weights of the testes, thyroid and anterior pituitary glands. Pretreatment of rats with a single dose of digitoxin did not present the stress-induced fall in adrenal ascorbic acid although treatment for one month completely prevented this response to stress in a manner quantitatively similar to that of hydrocortisone. Daily treatment with digitoxin or hydrocortisone for 30 days reduced the ACTH content of the anterior pituitary gland to 30-40% of that found in control glands.[long dash]Authors.