The effect of ACTH and pathological increases in adrenal cortical function on urinary alpha-ketolic steroid metabolites.

Previous studies ( 1 ) have shown that the specific alpha-ketolic steroid metabolites found in the urine after administration of a known alphaketolic steroid reflect, to a limited extent, the nature of the precursor. With this study as a baseline, we have determined the major urinary alphaketolic steroid metabolites found after intravenous infusion of human subjects with ACTH, and some of those found in the urine of a man with Cushing's syndrome, and in that of a woman with metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma. The results of this study and some speculations concerning the possible nature and rate of alpha-ketolic steroid secretion are presented in this paper.