ADRENOCORTICAL FUNCTION DURING CONTINUOUS LONGTERM THERAPY WITH CORTISONE

SUPPRESSION of adrenocortical function and atrophy of the adrenal cortex have been described as following administration of cortisone.1Both effects, presumably, are due to suppression of secretion of corticotropin, with resulting inac- tivity of the adrenal cortex. Thus, the use of cortisone in interrupted courses, or of cortisone and exogenous corticotropin in alternating courses, has been recommended in order to produce periodic reactivation of the adrenal cortex. Obviously it is important to know whether the suppression of adrenocortical-activity which results from long-term treatment with cortisone is reversible. A number of studies1have suggested that this is the case, but this conclusion usually has been based on observations of patients who had received large doses of cortisone for relatively short periods. Furthermore, the eosinopenia following administration of corticotropin was often the sole criterion of adrenocortical responsiveness. MATERIAL AND METHOD The purpose of this study was to assess critically the