THE PHARMACOLOGY OF CORTISONE, CORTISOL (HYDROCORTISONE) AND THEIR NEW ANALOGUES

Page created by Brenda Wilson
 
CONTINUE READING
Downloaded from http://pmj.bmj.com/ on February 4, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com

300

        THE PHARMACOLOGY OF CORTISONE,
         CORTISOL (HYDROCORTISONE) AND
             THEIR NEW ANALOGUES
                                   By OLIVER GARROD, M.D., M.R.C.P.
                   Physician, Barnet General Hospital; late Research Fellow, Middlesex Hospital

   In man the essential functions of the adrenal           corticosterone (Compound.B). Though it is the
cortex stem from at least two hormones, cortisol           predominant glucocorticoid in a number of
(hydrocortisone) and aldosterone, these differing          mammalian species, in man it is of little importance
in their quality of action, mode of secretory              for only small amounts are secreted (about i mg.
regulation, and probable site of production within         a day) (Migeon et al.,   1956).
the gland. The adrenal sex hormones are of re-
latively minor physiological importance and will           The Secretion and Metabolism of Cortisol
not be considered here.                                       The rate of cortisol secretion is governed by
   The new synthetic analogues of cortisol are best        the level of circulating corticotrophin. Under
assessed in relation to the essential duality of           quiescent conditions the pituitary corticotrophin
function of the adrenal cortex as revealed by the          output varies inversely with the concentration of
actions of its two principal hormones. The first           cortisol in the blood, resulting in a fairly steady
function is concerned with a number of homoeo-             rate of cortisol secretion from day to day. Over-
static processes and with resistance to stress and         riding this basal ' feedback' regulation is the
is served by the secretion of cortisol. In the body        stress reaction whereby additional corticotrophin
cortisol is reversibly interconvertible with corti-        is released, probably in response to stimulating
sone and is probably the active form of the hor-           neurohormones emanating from the hypothalamus
mone. Cortisol and cortisone, with their almost            and reaching the adenohypophysis by portal
identical actions, are called glucocorticoids for          venous pathways. Under such extreme stimu-
their effects on carbohydrate metabolism. Though           lation cortisol secretion may rise to about 250 mg.
Ingle (1950) has likened use of the word gluco-            a day.
corticoid for these steroids to describing an                 The capacity to suppress corticotrophin secre-'
elephant by the shape of its tail, yet it remains a        tion is common to all known glucocorticoids,
useful generic term to cover all those diverse             natural and synthetic, when given in doses which
actions of cortisol and its analogues which seem to        'equal or exceed in equivalence the normal cortisol
be inseparably linked with their carbohydrate              secretion of about 20 mg. a day. By only partially
effects.                                                   suppressing corticotrophin secretion smaller doses
   The second or mineralocorticoid function of the         than these merely replace an equivalent amount of
adrenal cortex is concerned with the regulation of         endogenous cortisol; hence they are usually in-
sodium and potassium balance, and depends                  effective therapeutically in patients with intact
largely on the secretion of aldosterone. A similar         adrenal function. In effective doses they cause
but less potent mineralocorticoid is desoxycorti-          reversible atrophy of the zona fasciculata, whence
costerone (DOC) which, though easily synthesized           cortisol is mainly derived, which lasts for
and used therapeutically as the acetate (DOCA), is         many days after treatment has been stopped;
secreted only in small amounts by the adrenal              hence the importance of slowly tapering off the
cortex. Further to their glucocorticoid properties,        dose over one to several weeks according to the
cortisol and cortisone also have a weak mineralo-          duration of the preceeding treatment. If this
corticoid activity, which assumes an increasing            precaution be neglected the patient is exposed to
importance when they are being produced in                 the risks of an acute adrenal crisis when faced
excess as in Cushing's syndrome, or administered           during this period with severe stress, such as
in large doses                                             pneumonia or surgical trauma.
   Intermediate in quality of action between                  Likewise, during even moderately intensive
cortisolVand aldosterone, but much less potent, is         glucocorticoid therapy the patient cannot step up
Downloaded from http://pmj.bmj.com/ on February 4, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com

Yune 195 8           GARROD: Pharmacology of Cortisone, Cortisol and their New Analogues                       301

  his cortisol secretion in emergency, and must then             Biochemically these steroids influence the
  be protected by raising the dosage, if needs beto           metabolism of protein, fat, carbohydrate, purines,
 the equivalent of 200 mg. of cortisone a day.                electrolytes and water, and exert a direct calori-
      Independent of corticotrophic control there are         genic action (Evans et al., 1957). In excess they
  wide diurnal variations in the rate of cortisol             inhibit tissue healing and body growth, influence
  secretion which falls to low levels in the early            the local and general response to infection, and
  morning hours before rising to a sustained peak at          raise the body's resistance to stress; they help in
  around 5 or 6 a.m. Whether this phenomenon                  maintaining normal functions of the brain, heart
 should be allowed to influence the timing and dis-           and circulation, and stimulate the gastric
 tribution of dosage when steroids are being given            secretions.
 in small amounts has yet to be decided.
      Radioisotope studies have been of great value in        Metabolic Effects
 elucidating the metabolism of cortisol (Migeon et              Glucocorticoids stimulate protein katabolism,
  al., 1956; Peterson and Wyngaarden, I955 and
  1956). Within the body the free steroid has a              thereby increasing nitrogen output and glucose
 half life of about I.4 hours, and is reduced to             formation (gluconeogenesis). In excess this leads
 derivatives such as tetrahydrocortisol, tetra-              to muscle wasting, weakening of connective and
 hydrocortisone, and allotetrahydrocortisol (Bush            vascular tissue, osteoporosis and the formation of
 and Willoughby, 1957), which combine in the                 wide purple striae. Aminoacid, creatine and uric
 liver with glycuronic acid to form glucuronides.            acid excretion are increased. This last effect may
  Together these metabolites account for about 36 per        be useful when treating acute gout, if not neu-
 cent. of the secreted hormone and are excreted in the       tralised by increased uric acid formation.
 urine where they can be measured as 17-hydroxy-                The complex actions of glucocorticoids on car-
 corticoids (Reddy, I954), or, together with the             bohydrate metabolism can be only partly accounted
 cortol and cortolone derivatives, as I7-ketogenic           for by increased gluconeogenesis, for these
 steroids (Norymberski et al., 1953). Only about             steroids also antagonize insulin, promote glycogen
 4 per cent. of the metabolites of cortisol can be           storage, and lower the renal glucose threshold
 accounted for as i7-ketosteroids, and about O.I5            (Fourman et al., 1950). Large doses diminish
 per cent. of the hormone is excreted in the free            glucose tolerance and cause mild glycosuria.
 state (Wade and Kellie, 1957). Impaired liver               Frank diabetes seldom results (less than i per cent.
 function and myxoedema retard the conjugation,              treated cases), and when it does is usually un-
 and renal failure the excretion, of these meta-             accompanied by ketonuria (Brookman et al.,
 bolites, hyperthyroidism having the opposite effect         1953). Fat mobilization and ketone combustion
 (Peterson et al., 1955). By means of radio-isotope          are accelerated, and starvation ketosis inhibited
 studies it has been shown that the high plasma              (Kinsell et al., 195I). A centripetal redistribution
 i7-hydroxycorticoid levels of late pregnancy are            of body fat contributes towards the Cushingoid
 due to delayed metabolism, and not increased                habitus which is a feature of steroid overdosage.
 secretion, of cortisol (Migeon et al., 1957).
                                                              Water and Electrolytes
 Physiological and Pharmacological Actions                       The complicated actions of cortisol and corti-
of Cortisol                                                   sone on water and electrolyte metabolism, though
     Despite the protean activities of cortisol, little is    mainly located within the kidney, are not confined
known about the biochemical processes which                   to this organ, for these steroids have been shown to
mediate these effects within the cells, though there          increase the extracellular fluid volume inde-
is evidence that a number of enzyme systems are              pendently of changes in, external water and
involved (Ingle, I950). To quote Ingle (I950):               electrolyte balance (Levitt and Bader, 195I). They
' The consequences of cortical hormone action                also diminish the sodium : potassium ratio in
spread through the organism in a manner re-                  sweat and saliva (Conn and Fajans, 1952).
miniscent of the waves caused by the impact of a                Acting as weak mineralocorticoids, cortisol and
stone in a pool of water, but the point of impact of         cortisone increase the renal tubular reabsorption
the hormone remains unknown for the present.'                of sodium, resulting in fluid retention. Often this
In most instances cortisol would seem to assist              effect is only transient and followed by diuresis;
rather than initiate the processes which it affects          frank oedema seldom follows unless other factors
(Sayers, 1950). Except for the electrolyte effects,          are present. Paradoxically, and notably in
the actions of cortisol are common to all the                Addisonian patients receiving DOCA, these
known glucocorticoids, whether natural or syn-               steroids may initially increase sodium excretion,
thetic, varying in strength but not in quality from          probably by raising the glomerular filtration rate
one such compound to another.                                (Garrod et al., I955a). The basis for their
Downloaded from http://pmj.bmj.com/ on February 4, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com

'302                             POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL JOURNAL                                         3fune 1.958
sodium-diuretic action in cardiac, scirrhotic and           Anti-inflammatory and Anti-allergic Actions
nephrotic oedema, is not yet understood.                       Glucocorticoids modify both general and local
   Potassium excretion is increased by a direct             responses to inflammatory agents. Under. their
renal tubular action, augmented by potassium re-           suppressive influence fever abates and there, is a
lease from''protein breakdown. As opposed to               fall in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate which
pure mineralocorticoids such as aldosterone and            can be correlated with a decrease in -plasma
DOC, glucoco'rticoids act specifically and per-            fibrinogen and gamma-globulin concentrations
missively on water diuresis and so protect against         (Fletcher et al., 1952); the plasma albumin tends
Water intoxication. Without them there is great            to rise.
delay in excreting a water load, and when they are            The local anti-inflammatory effects of these
given in excess water diuresis is accelerated. The         steroids are related to several actions:-a lessening
underlying osmotic mechanisms are only partly              of fibroblast-response and cellular reaction, a di-
understood but seem to involve a direct action on          minution: in the number of mast cells and con-
the renal tubules.                                         sequently in the amount of tissue hyaluronic acid,
                                                           and an inhibition of specific antibody synthesis.
Bone and Calcium Metabolism                                Whilst these actions may be desirable in the treat-
                                                           ment of collagen' diseases and of excessive con-
   Here, again, the effects of glucocorticoids are         nective tissue proliferation in other ,disorders, they
complex and obscure. Prolonged treatment re-               predispose to the spread of tuberculosis and other
sults in negative calcium, phosphorus and                  bacterial infections unless appropriate antibiotic
nitrogen balances and eventually osteoporosis.             cover is provided.
These steroids also antagonize the action' of vita-           The remarkable. antiallergic properties of the
min D and its analogues (Dickel, ig i) and so              glucocorticoids are probably related to their
neutralize the effects of antitetanic treatment in         modifying action on antigen-antibody reactions
hypoparathyroidism (Moehlig and Steinbach,                 and on histamine release, and may be lifesaving in
I954). By inhibiting excessive calcium absorp-             such conditions as status asthmaticus and bene-
tion from the gut, they correct the defect'Which           ficial in many other disorders.
causes hypercalcaemia in some cases of sarcoidosis
(Hellman et al., 1956).                                     Central Nervous System
                                                              Glucocorticoids increase cerebral excitability,
The Circulation                                            predisposing to fits arid, psychoses in susceptible
   The actions of glucocorticoids on the circulation       subjects. Euphoria and insomnia are common
are largely permissive. Without them the blood             accompaniments of steroid therapy and less often
pressure and glomerular filtration rate. fall sharply.     agitated depression. The electroencephalograph
Similarly hypertension can be corrected by bit             shows characteristic changes in Addison's disease
lateral adrenalectomy followed by minimal corti-           (Forsham et al., 1949) and in patients on large
sone maintenance (Harrison et al., 1952); yet,             doses of cortisone (Bolandd and Headley, .I949).
provided renal function is good, hypertension              The pain-relieving properties of these steroids
seldom follows the use of these steroids in man,           seem to be related to their local anti-inflammatory
despite their potentiating the pressor a'ction of          action rather -thanr to any' direct effects on the
noradrenaline (Kurland and Freedberg, I95 I).              sensory nervous system.
Large doses can raise the glomerular filtration rate       Gastric Secretions
to supernormal levels. Cerebral blood flow in-
creases, but cerebral oxygen and glucose utilization          Glucocorticoids increase the concentrattons,of
are not affected (Schieve et al., 195I).                   pepsin. and hydrochloric acid in the stomach,; as
                                                           reflected in a rise of uropepsin excretion (Eastcott
                                                           et al., 1953). This action, which is independent
Blood and Blood Vessels                                    of the route of steroid administration, predisposes
   Glucocorticoids in excess cause e3sinopenia and         to peptic ulceration in those susceptible and is one
regression of lymphoid tissue, this last action ex-        of the major risks of steroid therapy.
plaining their usefulness in the treatment' of
lymphosarcoma and lymphatic leukaemia. They                Secondary Endocrie Effects
stimulate neutrophil and red cell production.and              Although exerting a direct calorigenic action
can induce a mild reversible polycythaemia. They           glucocorticoids in high dosage also. suppress
have no consistent effects on platelet formation,          thyroid functior, as shown by diminished radio-
purpura being'suppressed because of their action           iodine uptake (Berson and Yalow, 1952) and a fall
in depressing capillary fragility (Zweichach et, al.,      in the plasma protein-bound iodine (Hill et ial.,
r953).                                                     I950). Gonadal function may also be; depressed.
Downloaded from http://pmj.bmj.com/ on February 4, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com

June I 958         GARROD: Pharmacology of Cortisone, Cortisol and their New Analogues                      303
The androgenici side-effects of large doses, such as        cortisol and cortisone respectively, were dis-
acne and hirsutism, may be due to i7-ketosteroid            covered in the laboratories of the Schering Cor-
metabolites of cortisone.                                   poration (Herzog et al., I955). The introduction
                                                            of a double bond between the first two carbon
Aldosterone                                                 atoms of the steroid ring increases the glucocorti-
   Aldosterone, the other major adrenocortical              coid potencies of cortisol and cortisone by at least
hormone, is the principal regulator of sodium and           4 to 5 times, yet without enhancing their mineralo-
potassium balance, and is secreted mainly by the            corticoid activities. Thus, prednisolone and
zona glomerulosa (Ayres et al., I957). Although             prednisone can be given in therapeutic dosage
cortisol also contributes towards sodium retention          without fear of causing excessive sodium re-
and in excess may even become the predominant               tention or potassium depletion. In all other ways
mineralocorticoid, yet its rate of secretion is un-         their actions resemble those of the parent steroids,
related to the changing requirements of sodium              but with 4 to 5 times the potency. Except when
and potassium balance.                                      treating adrenal failure, sodium retention and
                                                            potassium depletion are undesirable side-effects of
   By contrast with cortisol,-the secretion of aldo-        steroid therapy, and especially in debilitated,
sterone is geared to the needs of the extracellular         hypertensive, oedematous or cardiac patients, or
fluid volume, or more precisely probably of the             when the aim of treatment is to promote sodium
arterial side of the vascular compartment (Bartter,         diuresis. These new compounds are therefore
I956). The mechanisms which regulate this                   rapidly replacing cortisone and cortisol in general
secretion are unknown but seem to be largely in-            use, thereby obviating the need for sodium re-
dependent of pituitary control since they remain            striction and supplementary potassium unless
intact after hypophysectomy. The physiological              heroic doses are being used as in the treatment of
stimuli for increased aldosterone secretion are a           certain blood dyscrasias.
loss or deprivation from the body of sodium,                   Recent studies have shown that prednisone and
water, or blood, and a high potassium intake.               prednisolone are largely excreted in unmetabolized
Conversely, a high sodium intake, pitressin-                form, giving rise to fewer tetrahydro-derivitives
induced water intoxication, and potassium de-               (Slaunwhite and Sandberg, 1957; Vermeulen,
privation all inhibit the secretion (Bartter, 1956).        1956). As with the natural steroids, prednisolone
   Prolonged oversecretion of aldosterone, as in            and prednisone are freely interconvertible within
Primary Hyperaldosteronism, leads to severe                 the body (Gray et al., 1956).
potassium deficiency, alkalosis, and excessive
sodium retention which, being mainly intracellular,        9-alpha-fluorohydrocortisone
seldom gives rise to oedema. Similar effects occur            The remarkable effects of adding a halogen atom
with overdosage of DOCA or fluorohydrocortisone            in the 9-alpha position to the cortisol molecule
(vide infra), and can likewise be corrected by             were discovered by Fried and Sabo (I
severely restricting the sodium intake.                                                                      Of
                                                           these derivatives only the chlorinated and fluori-
                                                           nated compounds were found to exceed the natural
Synthetic Analogues of Cortisol and Cortisone              steroid in potency. Whereas the glucocorticoid
   By effecting minor adjustments to the steroid           activity of 9-alpha-fluorohydrocortisone (FHC) is
ring or its attachments the chemist has been able          about io times that of cortisone, the mineralocori-
to a remarkable degree to enhance and modify the           coid activity exceeds that of the parent compound
actions of these steroid hormones. Qualitatively,          by at least ioo times (Garrod et al., 1955b) and is
however, these changes have only brought about a           slightly greater than that of aldosterone.
shift of balance between their glucocorticoid and             Despite its enhanced glucocorticoid potency the
mineralocorticoid potencies. So far only three of          extreme electrolyte activities of FHC preclude its
the many new compounds have found their way                systemic use as a substitute for cortisone (Ward et
into general use: the two delta- i steroids, pred-         al., 1954). However, since it can be given by
nisolone and prednisone, and 9-alpha-fluorohydro-          mouth, it is an ideal substitute for DOCA in treat-
cortisone (fludrocortisone). Two other compounds           ing adrenal insufficiency at doses of about O. 1-0.2
have recently been made available.*                        mg. a day. The cortisone-like action of such
The Delta-I Compounds: Prednisolone and                    amounts is very small, so cortisone must also be
Prednisone                                                 given to achieve adequate replacement.
   These compound', which are analogues of                    This contraindication applies less when the
                                                           steroid is used topically, as in skin disease, for it
   These are triamcinolone (i6 hydroxy-9-alpha-fluoro-     is little absorbed into the circulation. Excessive
prednisolone) and 6-methyl prednisolone.                   sodium retention has, however, been reported
Downloaded from http://pmj.bmj.com/ on February 4, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com

304                             POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL JOURNAL                                                    June I958

 following liberal use of FHC ointments in patients         solved in 500 ml. of 5 per cent. dextrose, and act
 with extensive ulcerated skin lesions.                     maximally when infused at a rate of io to I2 mg.
    A third use of FHC, which takes advantage of            an hour. The sodium succinate ester is very
 its enhanced glucocorticoid activity, is in tests to       soluble in water; IOO mg. given intravenously,
 differentiate adrenocortical tumours from adreno-          dissolved in 2 ml. of distilled water or saline,
 cortical hyperplasia (Renold et al., 1955). Using          begins to act within about half an hour (Orr
 this compound the metabolic end-products are               et al., 1955). Prednisolone-2i-phosphate has the
 small enough rot to disguise the falls in I7-              advantage of being stable in solution and very
 ketosteroid and 17-hydroxysteroid excretion which          soluble.
 follow the steroid-induced suppression of endo-               For topical and intraarticular use, only cortisol
 genous corticotrophin in patients with adrenal             or its analogues, prednisolone and FHC are effec-
 hyperplasia.                                               tive, their effective concentrations in suspension
                                                            or as ointments being roughly inversely propor-
 Some More Recent Cortisol Derivatives                      tional to their glucocorticoid potencies (vide
    By the addition of a 6-methyl group to cortisol         supra). Cortisol and FHC are used in acetate
 or prednisolone or a i6-OH group to FHC or                 form, prednisolone as the free compound or
 9-alpha fluoroprednisolone compounds can be                acetate.
 obtained with even greater glucocorticoid potency
 than prednisolone, and without excessive mineralo-                             BIBLIOGRAPHY
 corticoid activity (Spero et al., 1956; Bernstein          AYRES, P. J., GARROD, O., PEARLMAN, W. H., TAIT,
                                                               S. A. S., TAIT, J. F., and WALKER, G. (I957), Ciba Found.
 et al., I956). These compounds, which have not                Colloq. Endocrin., 'Hormones in Blood,' Churchill, London.
 yet been subjected to full clinical trial, are un-         BARTTER, F. C. (I956), Metab., 5, 369.
                                                            BERNSTEIN, S., et al. (1956), J. Amer. chem. Soc., 78, 5693.
 likely to offer advantages over prednisolone as            BERSON, S. A., and YALOW, R. S. (I952), J. clin. Endocr., 12, 407.
 they seem to have no important qualitative dif-            BOLAND, E. W., and HEADLEY, N. E. (0949),J. Amer. med. Ass.,
                                                                141, 301.
 ferences in their glucocorticoid actions.                  BROOKMAN, J. J., DRACKMAN, S. R., SCHAEFER, L. E.,
    Then, there are the 2-methyl derivatives of                and ADLERSBURG, D. (I953), Diab., 2, I00.
cortisol and FHC, which are the most potent                 BUSH, I. E., and WILLOUGHBY, M. (19S7), Biochem.Y.., in press.
                                                            CONN, J. W., and FAJANS, S. S. (I952), Ann. Rev. Physiol., x4,
 mineralocorticoids yet discovered (Liddle et al.,             453-
 1956). The second of these two compounds is               DICKEL, H. (i5si), Minch. med. Wschr., 93, I.
 several thousand times as active as cortisol on           EASTCOTT, H. H. G., FAWCETT, J. K., and ROB, C. G. (1953),
                                                               Lancet, i, io68.
electrolyte metabolism, and a single oral dose is          EVANS, E. S., CONTROPOULOS, A. N., and SIMPSON, N. E.
 effective for about 48 hours. Many more ana-                  (1957), Endocrin., 60, 403.
                                                           FLETCHER, A. A., DAUPHINEE, J. A., and OGRYZLO, XI. A.
logues of cortisol are being prepared and sub-                 (1952), 7. clin. Invest., 3I, 56I.
                                                           FORSHAM, P. H., BENNETT, L. L., ROCHE, M., REISS,
jected to biological assay.                                    R. S., SLESSOR, A., FLINCK, E. B., and THORN, G. W.
                                                               (I9495, . clin. Endocr., 9, 66o.
Modes of Administration of Steroid Hormones                FOURMAN, P., BARTTER, F. C., ALBRIGHT, F., DEMPSEY,
                                                               E., CARROLL, E., and ALEXANDER, J. A. (I950), Y. clin.
       For pharmacological use, cortisone and FHC              Invest., 29, I462.
                                                           FRIED, J., and SABO, E. F. (1954), Y. Amer. chem. Soc., 76, I455.
are prescribed as the acetate esters, prednisone           GARROD, O., DAVIES, S. A., and CAHILL, G., Jr. (x955a),
and prednisolone usually as the free compounds,               -7. clin. Invest., 34, 76I.
and cortisol in either form. Orally, they act within       GARROD, 0., NABARRO, J. D. N., PAWAN, G. L. S., and
                                                               WALKER, G. (I955b), Lancet, 2, 367.
2 to 3 hours and are effective for about I2 hours,         GRAY, C. H., GREEN, M. A. S., HOLNESS, N. J., and
                                                               LUNNON, J. B. (I956), Y. Rndocr., 4,1 46.
depending on the dose. To maintain adequate                GRAY, S. J., BENSON, J. A., REIFENSTEIN, R. W., and
blood levels with oral therapy large doses should              SPIRO, H. M. (i9sI),.y. Amer. med. Ass., 147, I529.
be given I2-hourly and small doses 8-hourly,               HARRISON, J. H., THORN, G. W., and CRISCITIELLO, M. G.
                                                               (I952), Y. Urol., 67, 405.
though FHC can be given once a day.                        HELLMAN, L., BRADLOW, H. L., FRAZELL, E. L., and
    With intramuscular injection the rate of                   GALLAGHER, T. F. (I956),.7. clin. Invest., 35, 033.
                                                           HENNEMAN, P. H., DEMPSEY, E. F., CARROLL, E. L., and
absorption is far slower and the effects of a single          ALBRIGHT, F. (I956), Ibid., 35, 1229.
dose may last, though feebly, for several days. In         HERZOG, H. L., NOBILE, A., TOLKSDORF, S., CHARNEY,
                                                              W., HERSHBERG, E. B., PERLMAN, P. L., and PECHET,
the case of cortisol the free compound is more                M. M. (i955), Seience, 122, 176.
rapidly absorbed than the less soluble acetate.            HILL, S. R., REISS, R. S., FORSHAM, P. H., and THORN,
                                                              G. W. (I950), Y. clin. Endocr., I0, 1375.
This route of administration offers no real advan-         INGLE, D. J. (I950), Ibid., to, 1312.
tages over the oral route, and is rarely indicated.        KINSELL, L. W., MARGEN, S., MICHAELS, G. D., and
   To obtain a rapid effect, as in the treatment of           PARTRIDGE, J. (Ig5I), Proc. 2nd Clin. ACTH Conf., x, 308.
acute adrenal crisis and status asthmaticus it is          KURLAND, G. S., and FREEDBERG, A. S. (I95I), Proc. Soc.
                                                              exp. Biol. (N. Y.), 78, 28.
necessary to use intravenous cortisol, either as the       LEVITT, M. F., and BADER, M. E. (9si),J. clin. Invest., 30, 655.
free compound (alcohol) or preferably as 'the              LIDDLE, G. W., RICHARDS, J. E., and TOMKINS, G. 1M.
sodium succinate ester or intravenous predniso-                (I956),J. cdn. Endocr., I6, 917.
lone-21i-phosphate. ioO mg. of cortisol are dis-           Bibliography continued on page 309
Downloaded from http://pmj.bmj.com/ on February 4, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com

June 1958                        BAYLISS: Cortisone and its Analogues in Endocrinology                                         309
cretion. A similar effect may also be observed                       GURLING, K. J., GORE, M. B. R., and BARON, D. N. (1958),
                                                                        Y. Endocr. 16, 304.
when cortisone is given to a hypercalcaemic patient                  JAILER, J. W.-, GOLD, J. J., and WALLACE, E. Z. (I954),
with multiple bony metastases if the steroid in-                        Amer. Y. Med., I6, 340.
                                                                     KUPPERMAN, H. S., BLATT, M. H. G., VESELL, M.,
hibits the growth of the neoplastic tissue. In                           GAGLIANI, J., WEISBADER, H., and VOSBURGH, L.
hyperparathyroidism, on the other hand, cortisone                        (I955), Y. clin. Endocr., x 5, 9I I .
                                                                     LANCET (I9S5), i, 6.
does not influence the hypercalcaemia.                               LEITH, W., and BECK, J. C. (I957), Y. clin. Endocr., 17, 28o.
                                                                     LIDDLE, G. W., and RICHARDS, J. E. (I956), Science, 123, 324.
                       BIBLIOGRAPHY                                  NABARRO, J. D. N., and WALKER, G. (I957), Brit. med. J.,
ANDERSON, J., DENT, C. E., HARPER, C., and PHILPOT,                      ii, 17.
    G. R. (I9S4), Lancet, ii, 720.                                   OWEN, J. A., ENGEL, F. L., and WEBSTER, T. B. (1957),
BARTTER, F. (x956), Metabolism, 5, 369.                                 Y. clin. Endocr., 17, 272.
                                                                     PRADER, A. (1953), Helv. paediat. Acta, 8, 386.
BAYLISS, R. I. S. (1957a), Proc. roy. Soc. Med. 50, 76I.             SEGALOFF, A., GORDON, D., and HORWITT, B. N. (1955),
BAYLISS, R. I. S. (1957b), in 'Moder Trends in Endocrinology,'          Y. Amer. med. Ass., x57, I479.
   London, Butterworth.                                              SPENCE, A. W., JENKINS, J. S., and ROBINSON, A. M.
BECK, R. N., and MONTGOMERY, D. A. D. (I956), Brit. med.J.,              (I956), Brit. med. Y., ii, 1348.
    ii, 921.                                                         WERNER, S. C. (I9S3), Y. clin. Endocr., 13, 1332.
                                                                     WILKINS, L., LEWIS, R. A., KLEIN, R., GARDNER, L. I.,
COPE, C. L. (I956), Ibid., ii, I93.                                      CRIGLER, J. F., ROSENBERG, E., and MIGEON, C. J.
FOURMAN, P., and HORLER, A. R. (1954), Lancet, i, 334.                   (1951), Ibid., xII, I.

                              ANAESTHETICS
                                 (Postgraduate Medical Journal)
                                                   Price: 3s. lld. post free
       THE MODERN VIEW OF ANAESTHESIA                                CHLORPROMAZINE AND ALLIED
         G. S. W. Organe, M.D., D.A., F.F.A.R.C.S.                    SUBSTANCES
        E PRODUCTION OF                                              John Beard, M.D., D.A., F.F.A.R.C.S.,
         UNCONSCIOUSNES                                              D.C.H.
         B. G. B. Lucas, D.A., F.F.A.R.C.S.                         CONTROLLED HYPOTHERMIA
       ANALGESIA                                                     E. J. Delorme, M.D., F.R.C.S.(C.)
         J. B. Wyman, M.B.E., D.A., F.F.A.R.C.S.                    MANAGEMENT OF T            APNOEIC
       MUSCLE RELAXATION IN SURGERY                                  PATIENT
         Angus Smith, F.F.A.R.C.S.                                    Ronald Woolmer, D.A., F.F.A.R.C.S.
       CONTROL OF THE BLOOD PRESSURE                                THE USE OF ANTIDOTES IN
         AND CONTROLLED HYPOTENSION                                  ANAESTHESIA
         C. F. Scurr, M.V.O., D.A., F.F.A.R.C.S.                     B. A. Sellick, D.A., F.F.A.R.C.S.
                                                            Published by
                          THE FELLOWSHIP OF POSTGRADUATE MEDICINE
                                   60, Portland Place, London, W.1

Bibliography continued from page 304-Oliver Garrod, M.D., M.R.C.P.
MIGEON, C. J., BERTRAND, J., WALL, P. E., STEMPFEL,                  RENOLD, A. E., HAYDER, N. A., REDDY, W. J., GOLDFIEN,
   R. S., and PRYSTORSKY, H. ('957), Ciba Found. Colloq.                A., ST. MARC, J. R., and LAIDLAW, J. C. (1955), Ann.
   Endocrin., 'Hormnones in Blood,' in press, Churchill, London,        N. Y. Acad. Sci., 6i, 582.
MIGEON, C. J., SANDBERG, A. A., DECKER, H. A.,                       SAYERS, G. (1950), Physiol. Rev., 30,*241.
    SMITH, D. F., PAUL, A. C., and SAMUELS, L. T. (I956),            SCHIEVE, J. F., SCHEINBURG, P., and WILSON, W. P. (i95i),
   Y. clin. Endocr., I6, II 37 and 129I.                                J. clin. Invest., 30, 1527.
MOEHLIG, R. C., and STEINBACH, A. L. (I954), J. Amer. med.           SLAUNVVHITE, W. R., Jr., and SANDBERG, A. A. (1957),
   Ass., 154, 42.                                                       J. clin. Endocr., 17, 395.
ORR, R. H., DI RAIMONDO, V., FLANAGAN, M. E., and                    SPERO, G. B., THOMPSON, J. L., MAGERLEIN, B. J.,
   FORSHAM, P. H. (I955), Ibid., 3S, 763.                               HAUZE, A. R., MURRAY, H. C., SEBEK, 0. K., and
PETERSON, R. E., and WYNGAARDEN, J. B. (I955), J. clin.                 HOGG, J. A. (1956), J. Amer. chem. Soc., 78, 6214.
   Invest., 34, 957.                                                 VERMEULEN, A. (I956), Acta endocr., 23, I13.
PETERSON, R. E., and WYNGAARDEN, J. B. (1956), Ibid., 35,            WADE, A. P., and KELLIE, A. E. (i957), personal communication.
    552.                                                             WARD, L. E., POLLEY, H. F., SLOCUMB, C. H., HENCH
PETERSON, R. E., WYNGAARDEN, J. B., GUERRA, S. L.,                      P. 5., MASON, H. L., MATTOX, V. R., and POWER, M. H.
   BRODIE, B. B., and BUNIM, J. J. (1955), Ibid., 34, 1779.             (1954), PrOc. Mayo Clin., 29, 649.
                                                                     ZWEICHACH, B. W., SCHORR, E., and BLOCK, M. M. (1953),
REDDY, W. J. (x9S4), Metab., 3,489.                                     Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci., s6, 626.
Downloaded from http://pmj.bmj.com/ on February 4, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com

                         The Pharmacology of
                         Cortisone, Cortisol
                         (Hydrocortisone) and their
                         New Analogues
                         Oliver Garrod

                         Postgrad Med J 1958 34: 300-309
                         doi: 10.1136/pgmj.34.392.300

                         Updated information and services can be found
                         at:
                         http://pmj.bmj.com/content/34/392/300.citation

                         These include:

Email alerting           Receive free email alerts when new articles cite
      service            this article. Sign up in the box at the top right
                         corner of the online article.

Notes

To request permissions go to:
http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions

To order reprints go to:
http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform

To subscribe to BMJ go to:
http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
You can also read