ARTERIAL DEGENERATION FROM ADRENALIN 501 



Arterial Degeneration from Adrenalin. An interest- 

 ing result of repeated injections of adrenalin into animals is the 

 appearance of a marked atheromatous degeneration of the aorta, 

 with calcification. This was first observed by Josue", and since 

 confirmed by Erb, Fischer, Gouget, Loeb and Githens, and 

 many others. 1 These lesions are quite different from those of 

 human arteriosclerosis, the chief change being degeneration of 

 the muscle-cells of the media, without any considerable inflam- 

 matory reaction. 2 They do not seem to be due to the heightened 

 blood pressure, since simultaneous administration of substances 

 that keep the blood pressure down does not prevent the atheroma 

 from developing (Braun), while other substances that raise blood 

 pressure, such as nicotine (Josue") or pyrocatechin (Loeb and 

 Githens), do not cause atheroma. Presumably, therefore, adren- 

 alin causes the arterial changes by a direct toxic action. 3 

 Myocardial degeneration is also observed in experimental ani- 

 mals, and later may lead to an interstitial myocarditis (Pearce 4 ). 

 These experiments suggest the possibility that oversecretion of 

 adrenalin may be a cause of arteriosclerosis, but there is no 

 evidence that this actually occurs in man. 



Adrenalin Glycosuria. Another interesting effect of in- 

 jection of suprarenal extracts or of pure adrenalin is the marked 

 glycosuria that follows. This property, first described by Blum 

 and directly after by Croftan, has been particularly studied in 

 Herter' s laboratory, where a number of interesting facts have 

 been developed. 5 Subcutaneous injections cause less glycosuria 

 than intravenous or intraperitoneal injections, while most minute 

 quantities of adrenalin cause glycosuria if applied directly to 

 the surface of the pancreas. 6 The glycosuria seems to depend 

 upon an increased conversion of glycogen into sugar in the 



1 Literature given by Loeb and Githens, Amer. Jour. Med. Sci., 1905 (130), 

 658; by Ellis, Amer. Med., 1906 (11), 292 ; and by Pearce and Stanton, Jour. 

 Exp. Med., 1906 (8), 74. 



* See Klotz, Jour. Exper. Med., Aug., 1906. 



3 According to v. Koranyi the production of sclerosis may be prevented by 

 iodin administration (Deut. med. Woch., 1906 (32), 679) ; see also Cummins 

 and Stout, Univ. of Penn. Med. Bull., July, 1906. Pearce and Baldauf (Amer. 

 Jour. Med. Sci., 1906 (132), 737) suggest that local anemia due to constriction 

 of the vasa vasorum is the cause of the arterial degeneration. 



* Jour. Exp. Med., 1906 (8), 400. 



5 Literature by Herter and Kichards, Med. News, 1902 (80), 201 ; Herter, 

 Amer. Med., 1902 (3), 771 ; Herter and Wakeman, Virchow's Arch., 1902 



169), 479; ibid., Amer. Jour. Med. Sci., 1903 (125), 46; Underbill and 

 ossen, Amer. Jour, of Physiol., 1906 (17), 42. 



6 The relation of the pancreas to adrenalin glycosuria is brought into ques- 

 tion by the results obtained by Underbill (Jour, of Biol., 1906 (1), 113) and 

 Velich, Virchow's Arch., 1906 (184), 345. 



