The Physiological Disposition and Metabolic Fate of Cortisone in Man

In an earlier paper we described studies on the physiological disposition and metabolic fate of hy- drocortisone in man (1). This paper describes similar studies on cortisone. Although contribut- ing very little to the body pool of adrenal corti- cal steroids, cortisone has been used extensively as a therapeutic agent, and it was therefore of in- terest to compare its metabolism with that of hy- drocortisone. Large doses of cortisone and hy- drocortisone were administered intravenously and rates of disappearance from the plasma determined in normal subjects and in patients with liver dis- ease, myxedema, thyrotoxicosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Trace quantities of cortisone-4-C" and hydrocortisone-4-C" were employed in certain studies. From these studies, information was ob- tained regarding rate of metabolic transformation, rate of absorption, rates and routes of excretion of cortisone and its metabolites, and, to some ex- tent, the identity and amount of these metabolites. Information was also obtained on the in vivo con- version of cortisone to hydrocortisone.