Adrenocortical function of rats under prolonged administration of lipidosis-inducing drugs.

The influence of three potent lipidosis-inducing agents, i.e. iprindole, triparanol and chloroquine, on the rat adrenal cortex was investigated by determination of the corticosterone excretion in the urine, the responsiveness to ACTH and by determination of the corticosterone content of the adrenals and of the corticosterone concentration in plasma. Administration of iprindole and triparanol left the function of the adrenal cortex unaffected, while under chloroquine treatment an activation with time was observed. Morphologically, similar degrees of lipidosis were found in all experiments. The results demonstrate that the functional capacity of the rat adrenal cortex is not directly correlated to lipidotic alterations.