Abstract
Summary
1. The effect of adrenalin on the blood sugar and blood lactate was studied: A. in patients with Addison's disease. B. in adrenalectomized dogs. 2. In patients with Addison's disease, the subcutaneous injection of adrenalin produced a similar increase in the blood sugar to that observed in the controls, and the blood sugar curve showed approximately the same contour in the 2 groups. The blood lactate curves differed, however. Both showed a similar sharp rise, but in the patients with Addison's disease, the curve remained elevated, and had not returned to basal level in 4 hours, whereas in the normal controls, it had reached basal level again within 3 hours. 3. It is suggested that the delay in the disappearance of the accumulated lactate from the blood seen in patients with Addison's disease may be due to a sluggishness on the part of the liver to convert lactic acid to glycogen. 4. The blood sugar and blood lactate curves, following a single intravenous injection of adrenalin in adrenalectomized dogs, are both lower and tend to remain elevated longer than in the same dogs before removal of the second adrenal gland.
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