Suprarenal Cortical Hormone and Salt in the Treatment of Pneumonia and Other Severe Infections

IT is WELL ESTABLISHED that the suprarenal cortex plays a significant rôle in the mechanism of resistance to intoxications, bacterial and protozoan infections and to secondary shock.1 Removal of the suprarenal glands in rats is followed by a profound drop in the natural resistance to toxins, poisons, bacterial and protozoan infections and a disturbance in the capacity to form antibodies. The resistance to anaphylactic shock is decreased. While the natural resistance of the suprarenalectO′mized animal is markedly depressed, the acquired resistance produced by a previous injection of antigen or by previous infection is unaffected. The depression in natural resistance following suprarenal insufficiency is probably dependent on loss of cortical function since injections of the cortical hormone raise the resistance of suprarenalectomized animals to the normal level. It was hypothecated that the depression in natural resistance is dependent in part on a disturbance of general cellular metabolism, possibly of an oxidation′reduction system.