A crystalline steroid was isolated from the adrenal cortex by Kendall and co-workers in 1935.¹Its chemical formula, 17-hydroxy-11-dehydrocorticosterone, was determined by them in 1938.²Prior to 1948 so little of the hormone, known as Kendall's compound E, was available for research that only a few facts regarding its physiologic activity were established. Its use in rats subjected to adrenalectomy improved muscle activity, as measured by the muscle-work test³and increased physiologic resistance to stress, cold and certain toxic substances.⁴In young rats growth was retarded and weight loss was induced.⁵A definite influence on carbohydrate metabolism was established: administration to partially depancreatized rats intensified the diabetic state⁶; administration to normal rats produced transient hyperglycemia and glycosuria.⁷In 3 human subjects with coexisting Addison's disease and diabetes mellitus, the diabetes was augmented when compound E was given in daily doses of 8 to
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Edward W. Boland (1949) studied this question.