Stressor effects of adrenaline on the immature fowl.

Chicks were injected with L-adrenaline (500 microgram/kg) thrice weekly from hatching for one, two or three weeks. The growth rate of treated chicks was depressed, particularly in the first week. When four-week-old chicks were given nine injections of adrenaline over a three-week period, growth rate was also depressed but less severely. The greater sensitivity of the younger chicks is thought to result from an immature blood-brain barrier. Relative adrenal mass (mg/kg) was generally increased but adrenal cholesterol depletion occurred only in three-week-old birds treated with adrenaline throughout. Plasma glucose and cholesterole concentrations were within the normal range after three weeks of treatment but there was a significant hypolipacidaemia in the younger birds treated for two or three weeks.