INHIBITION OF STRESS INDUCED ADRENAL ASCORBIC ACID DEPLETION BY MORPHINE,DIBENZYLINE AND ADRENAL CORTEX EXTRACT

Abstract

STIMULATION of the pituitary-adrenal axis by a variety of stressing agents and procedures is a well known phenomenon (1). The mechanism (s) by which different types of stress induce this response remains unknown. The attempt to inhibit the pituitary-adrenal response to stress by various agents represents one approach to this problem. Often such experiments have been exceedingly difficult to interpret because of non-specific stressing effects of the intended blocking agents themselves. In some instances, however, “adapting” procedures (2) or the development of tolerance (3) have been used to circumvent the acute stressing effects. The present investigation is concerned with attempts to inhibit pituitary- adrenal stimulation in response to various stresses by Dibenzyline,1 morphine, and adrenal cortex extract. Under the conditions of these experiments these agents did not cause pituitary-adrenal stimulation.