Effect of Adrenocorticotropin on Desoxycorticosterone, Corticosterone and Aldosterone Excretion

ABSTRACT Adrenocorticotropin was administered continuously for 3–7 days to normal subjects and to patients with essential hypertension or an aldosterone-producing adenoma. Tetrahydrodesoxycorticosterone and tetrahydrocorticosterone showed sustained increases but aldosterone showed only an initial transient rise. With cessation of adrenocorticotropin, aldosterone fell to <50% of control values and remained reduced for 5–7 days. A possible mechanism, suggested for the reduction of aldosterone excretion by adrenocorticotropin, is the reduction of plasma renin activity by increased production of mineralocorticoid hormones with resultant fluid retention. However, the similar response that occurs in patients with an aldosterone-producing adenoma when plasma renin activity is reduced to absent suggests a more dominant role for intraadrenal modulation of aldosterone synthesis.