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Ketamine-HCl has been reported, depending on experimental conditions and dosage given, to have significant cardiovascular and endocrine effects in some species. However, previous studies in primates have inadequately distinguished between animal handling and ketamine effects. We, therefore, examined the effects of various doses of ketamine (0, 5 , 10, 15, and 20 mg/kg) on mean arterial blood pressure and on plasma insulin, glucose, and cortisol concentrations in 10 chronically cannulated Macaca fascicularis monkeys which had been acclimated to restraining chairs. Each monkey received three different doses of ketamine according to a balanced incomplete block design. Ketamine anesthesia produced no significant changes in plasma insulin, glucose, or cortisol concentrations nor did it affect mean arterial blood pressure. In addition, the effects of ketamine-HC1 on endocrine responses to insulin-induced hypoglycemia were examined in four animals according to a cross-over design. These animals also had chronically maintained cannulas and had been acclimated to restraining chairs. Plasma glucose concentrations, as well as plasma ACTH, growth hormone, and cortisol responses in ketamine-anesthetized animals receiving an insulin challenge were no different from those in unanesthetized control animals. Thus, our studies indicate that ketamine-HCl does not perturb these particular hormonal systems in M. fuscicularis monkeys. 389

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