Abstract
Because of the relations of the autonomic nervous system to the thyroid gland, we thought it of interest to determine the effects of certain drugs which are known or believed to affect the autonomic nerves in a specific manner.
We tested the effect of these drugs in two ways: (1) We either injected solutions of these drugs subcutaneously or intraperitoneally, or administered them orally, and then examined the thyroid gland microscopically, noting the various characteristic features considered in the previous investigations from this laboratory; in particular making approximate counts of mitoses in various glands. (2) We determined the effect of these drugs on the hypertrophy and hyperplasia which is produced in the thyroid by injections of extracts of anterior pituitary gland.
Male guinea pigs, the initial weights of which ranged between 200 and 300 gm., were used for our experiments.
Experiments with Ergotamine Tartrate (Gynergen). To 8 guinea pigs ergotamine tartrate was given daily for 6 to 9 days in doses varying between 0.5 mg. and 6.0 mg. The drug was administered partly by mouth, and partly by subcutaneous injections. No toxic effects were noted. With the smaller doses there was a gain in weight, but with the larger doses the weight either remained stationary or showed a slight loss. Microscopically the thyroids were those of normal guinea pigs, as far as amount and character of colloid, relative number of mitoses and lack of hypertrophy are concerned.
In 9 guinea pigs, ergotamine and anterior pituitary extract were administered at the same time, 0.1 cc. or 0.3 cc. anterior pituitary extract being injected daily intraperitoneally, for periods of 6 or 9 days, and simultaneously 5.0 mg. ergotamine being given orally and 0.5 mg. injected subcutaneously. Controls were injected with anterior pituitary extract alone.
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