Abstract
It has been shown that either the condition of pseudopregnancy or the administration of anterior pituitary substances will in certain instances extend the lives of adrenalectomized animals, 1 2 3 Among those who have used pituitary implants and extracts in adrenalectomized rats only Emery and Schwabe have found a life-sparing effect. In earlier experiments we gave large daily doses of various pituitary extracts, and of beef and rat pituitary implants (one to 2 rat pituitaries per day and similar or larger volumes of beef pituitary tissue), to partially and completely adrenalectomized rats in attempts to stimulate adrenal accessory tissue. This treatment failed to increase the percent of adrenal accessories, distinguishable by gross or histological observation, and also failed to ameliorate the symptoms of adrenal insufficiency. The substances administered were on the contrary somewhat toxic to adrenalectomized animals.
In the meantime Emery and Schwabe showed that homo-implants in smaller doses (one pituitary per week) would extend life markedly in female salt-treated adrenalectomized rats. We have confirmed their findings, using for treated and control animals the low salt diet of Weiser and Norris, 4 a diet which makes the test considerably more exacting and which has the advantage of reducing somewhat the variability in life span of adrenalectomized rats.
Adrenalectomy was performed in female rats at approximately 30 days of age. Three intramuscular implants of a whole male rat pituitary each were given in a 5-day period before adrenalectomy. Two rat pituitary implants per week were given after adrenalectomy. In all experiments litters were divided and the survival of treated animals compared to that of untreated littermate controls. Animals given implants lived twice as long as controls and during the period of their survival showed considerable weight increment (Table I).
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.