The Effect on Adrenaline on the Oxygen Consumption in Diabetes Mellitus and in Hyperthyroidism

The calorigenic effect of adrenaline was discovered by La Franca (1909) in experiments on dogs. The same effect was described in man by Fuchs & Roth (1912) and Bernstein & Falta (1912). During the subsequent years several investigations on this subject were published, from which it appeared that a subcutaneous injection of adrenaline in man and in animals is followed by an increase in oxygen consumption, ventilation and respiratory rate, an augmented respiratory quotient, hyperglycæmia, and a marked effect on circulation, notably tachycardia, increased minute volume, and a rise in systolic blood pressure. The relevant literature was reviewed by Griffith (1951). Boothby & Sandiford (1920) and Sandiford (1920) demonstrated that patients with various disorders (mainly hyperthyroidism) treated with 0.5 mg. adrenaline subcutaneously, developed symptoms similar to those mentioned above. The maximum oxygen consumption was seen about 10 to 30 min. after the injection, amounting to 10 to 48 per cent