The influence of cortisone and adrenocorticotropin on urinary gonadotropin excretion.

DURING a systematic investigation in our hospital of the effect of 17-hydroxy-ll-dehydrocorticosterone (cortisone) and pituitary adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) in patients with various diseases, the clinical observations were supplemented by a large number of ancillary biochemical and physiologic studies. The major portion of these findings has been published elsewhere (1–5). The object of the present report is to record the results of assays for urinary gonadotropic activity in patients who were treated with these hormonal compounds. MATERIAL AND METHODS Included in this study are 22 patients with the following diseases: disseminated lupus erythematosus 11, hyperthyroidism 5, scleroderma 2, dermatomyositis 1, rheumatoid arthritis 1, acute rheumatic fever 1, and congenital hypoglobulinemia 1. Nineteen were females and 3 were males, each of the latter having disseminated lupus erythematosus. The ages of the subjects ranged from 13 to 52 years. However, there were only 2 women who exceeded 40 years of age, one ...