Recovery from structural changes produced in adrenal glands of the rat by administration of cortisone.

In order to determine how cortisone might be used with the greatest practical value as a therapeutic agent for patients with a chronic illness such as rheumatoid arthritis, clinical studies were undertaken to observe the result of relatively small doses with definite anti-rheumatic effect given over a period of one year or more. As judged by clinical findings, some patients with rheumatoid arthritis tolerated well the prolonged use of cortisone, while others did not. Laboratory tests to determine the responsiveness of the human adrenal gland to stimulation by carticotropin, shortly after discontinuance of prolonged cortisone treatment, showed a satisfactory physiological response in the majority of the patients. In parallel with these observations, animal studies were conducted to determine whether daily injections of cortisone acetate for a period of time comparable to one year in man would produce irreversible structural changes in the rat adrenal gland. Method of Study Material.-Albino rats of the Sherman strain, 3 months old, were used. All animals were obtained from the dealer at the same time. The female rats weighed 190 to 240 g., and the males 190 to 260 g. All rats were housed under the same conditions and were given water and a complete Rockland stock diet ad libitum, with the exception that in one series food was restricted to provide undernourished control animals. The cortisone acetate used in these studies was the usual suspension (25 mg./ml.) injected intramuscularly into arthritic patients. The diluent employed for control was the vehicle used by the manufacturer for suspending the cortisone acetate, a saline solution containing suspending agents and 1 *5 per cent. benzyl alcohol.