Abstract
Grollman and Firor 1 have demonstrated that chronic adrenal insufficiency, induced by various methods, is primarily a disturbance of pituitary origin. The syndrome which follows, cessation of growth, failure of reproductive activity and subnormal body temperature is, according to the above workers, relieved by administration of pituitary extracts and not by cortin. Long 2 has shown that acute adrenal insufficiency caused by the removal of the adrenal gland, though accompanied by injections of cortin, ameliorates experimental pancreatic diabetes. The object of the present experiments is to determine the effects of chronic adrenal insufficiency on the course of experimental pancreatic diabetes.
Eight cats were anesthetized with sodium pento1)arl)ital and both lumboadrenal veins were ligated distally and proximally to the gland. L4t the same time the entire pancreas was removed. The animals received neither insulin nor cortin. Fluid was given ad lib. along with a Lveighetl amount of food (Bovex) each day. The periods of survival were 11, 11, 12, 15, 17, 18, 20, and 98 days. The life span of these animals was definitely prolonged by the ligation, for depancreatized cats usually succumb before 8 days. At the present time we shall present a brief description of the cat which survived for 98 days. After the operation the cat exhibited a pro found glycosuria. hut 2 iveeks later the urine ivas free of sugar and remained so until death. There was a marked (501%) loss in body weight. - At autopsy careful examination revealed no traces of pancreatic tissue. The adrenal glands appeared degenerated. The kidney cortex Was ivhite due to increased deposition of fat, 14.8% on analysis, although the liver Ivas free of fatty infiltration and contained the normal amount of fat, 4.5%. Two large and several small ulcers were found on both sides of the pyloric orifice of the stomach.
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