Effect of Salt Treatment on Certain Changes Following Adrenalectomy

Abstract

It has been shown 1 , 2 , 3 that the loss of sodium chloride and possibly other inorganic ions contributes to the development of the severe symptoms which follow adrenalectomy, and that the administration of these ions will partially or completely prevent the development of these symptoms.

Since disturbances of the oestrous cycle have repeatedly been studied in adrenalectomized animals, 4 , 5 , 6 and since various authors came to the conclusion that cortical extracts have a specific influence on the sex organs, 6 , 7 , 8 it seemed of importance to establish whether the administration of salt would correct the disturbance of the cycle, as our preliminary experiments seemed to indicate. 9

Forty-six normally cyclic rats were adrenalectomized. Fifteen of these were untreated, and went into a dioestrus which lasted until death. The remaining 31 were given the Rubin salt mixture. 3 Of the 18 animals maintained in good health by salt, 14 remained normally oestric; the animals which died in spite of treatment were nearly all dioestric until death. The completeness of the operation was assured by the death which followed soon after the removal of the salt, and by the absence of any cortical tissue at autopsy.

In general, then, it seems to be true that where the salt mixture maintains the life and weight of the adrenalectomized animal, oestrus appears at normal intervals. In this connection we would like to emphasize that the salt mixture maintained only 18 of the 31 animals treated.