Effects of Intravenous Infusion of Autonomic Agents on Peripheral Blood 17-Hydroxycorticosteroid Levels in the Dog

¹ From the Department of Neurophysiology, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D. C.

The effects of autonomic agents on anterior pituitary-adrenal cortical axis in dogs were studied. 17-hydroxycorticosteroids (17-OH-CS), determined by Nelson-Samuels method, and eosinophils, by Randolph procedure, were measured in normal animals and following saline, ACTH, l-epinephrine, l-norepinephrine and physostigmine. Concentrations of 17-OH-CS three to four times the initial plasma levels were achieved by ACTH (0.4–4.0 mg/kg). Epinephrine (0.12 mg/kg) caused approximately twofold increases. Norepinephrine (0.017 mg/kg) and physostigmine (0.05 mg/kg) had no effect on 17-OH-CS concentration. Marked eosinopenia resulted from ACTH, epinephrine and physostigmine.