THE METABOLISM OF ALDOSTERONE IN NORMAL SUBJECTS AND IN PATIENTS WITH HEPATIC CIRRHOSIS*

Abstract
The intravenous administration of 7-H3-aldosterone to 16 normal subjects and 9 patients with hepatic cirrhosis revealed a slower rate of disappearance of aldosterone from the plasma in those with cirrhosis. In addition cirrhotic patients excreted in urine a greater proportion of the aldosterone in the form of the acid-hydro-lyzable conjugate and a lesser proportion as tetrahydroaldosterone. Orally administered aldosterone was shown to be ineffective in man because of rapid inactivation during a single passage through the liver.