Relationship of the Adrenal Cortex to the Metabolism of Fat

THE purpose of this paper is to review the experimental and clinical observations on the relationship of the adrenal cortex to the metabolism of fat and to consider the question: What is the rôle of adrenal cortical hormones in the etiology of the obesity which occurs in some patients having tumors or hyperplasia of the adrenal cortex? Absorption. Verzar and his co-workers (1,2) have reported a decrease from normal in the rate of fat absorption from the intestinal tract in adrenalectomized animals. They believe that this change is due to a decreased phosphorylation of fat in the intestinal mucosa. This problem has now been investigated in a number of other laboratories and it can be stated with reasonable certainty that Verzar's hypothesis regarding the rôle of the adrenal cortex in the phosphorylation of fat has been disproven. Barnes, Wick, Miller and MacKay (3) found no change from normal in the rate of the intestinal absorption of fat in adrenalectomized rats maintained on a high sodium chloride intake.