Study of Adrenocortical Physiology in Normal and Schizophrenic Men

IN PREVIOUS publications¹we reported data for various measures of adrenocortical function of schizophrenic and normal men (aged 20 to 39) at rest, when subjected to stress, and when given test doses of corticotropin and adrenal cortex extract by injection. The present study is an extension of these investigations in which we report data reflecting adrenal cortical physiology in two age groups each of normal subjects and of schizophrenic patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS In this study the urinary excretion rates of urinary water, total 17-ketosteroids, creatinine, inorganic phosphates, sodium, potassium, uric acid, and corticoids (neutral reducing lipids) were measured; in addition, in the blood, the lymphocyte and eosinophile count and the sugar content were determined. Methods used in these determinations are cited in references to previous studies.1a,b Seventy-two normal men divided into two age groups of 20 to 39 and 40 to 60 years were studied and compared