ABSTRACT
Plasma 17-OHCS and urinary excretion of 17-KGS and 17-KS have been compared in 24 patients with chronic polyarthritis, who had been treated for years with corticosteroids. All medication was discontinued 3 days before this investigation. To test the adrenal cortical response the patients were given intramuscular injections of 40 IU of a long-acting ACTH preparation twice daily on 6 consecutive days. Plasma 17-OHCS were determined at 8 a. m. before the first ACTH injection and 3 hours after the injection on the first and sixth treatment days. The urinary concentration of 17-KGS and 17-KS were measured in 24 hour samples on the control day, and on the first and sixth days of treatment.
The results show a greater variation in the 17-KS groups than in the 17-KGS and 17-OHCS groups, the smallest variation being in the 17-OHCS groups. There is a significant increase in all values after the first ACTH injection and a further significant increase after the sixth injection, but the t-values are much larger in the 17-OHCS groups than in the 17-KS groups, while the 17-KGS groups occupy an intermediate position. The plasma 17-OHCS values correlate better with the urinary 17-KGS than with the 17-KS. The correlation between 17-OHCS and 17-KGS is not very good (P > 0.05). There is a negative correlation between 17-OHCS and 17-KS control values, and the correlation after ACTH is very poor. 17-KGS correlate well with 17-KS (P < 0.01).
