Pharmacologic Aspects of Adrenocortical Steroids and ACTH in Man

Abstract

Effect of cortisone on growth: An impressive array of evidence demonstrates that under certain conditions body growth is suppressed by oxygenated corticosteroids145 or by intensive adrenocortical stimulation with ACTH.323 Cortisone fails to sustain a normal growth rate in young, immature, adrenalectomized rats324 and, in large doses, frankly inhibits growth in mature adrenalectomized325 and normal209 rats. Furthermore, inhibition may be extreme, despite a greatly increased food intake during cortisone administration. Since high-level cortisone treatment may interfere with growth of epiphyseal cartilage in immature animals, and suppress chondrogenesis and osteogenesis in mature rats,227 it is not surprising that elevated levels of corticosteroids . . .