The effects of decreased dietary sodium content during pregnancy and lactation on the activity of adrenal glands of the offspring were investigated. Low salt diet (0.3% of NaCl) increased the aldosterone production in newborn rats, on day 7 and on day 15 decreased the production of 18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone only; on day 20 only the aldosterone production was increased. Based on the measurements of sodium and potassium concentrations in milk and urine of the offspring, the lasting effects of intrauterine conditions on newborn adrenal gland regulation and the adrenocortical regulatory system activity during the suckling period are discussed. This is done on the basis of literary evidence on amounts of the sodium and potassium required for body mass growth and the observation on the probable shortage of potassium supply in maternal milk towards the end of the suckling period.
In comparison to young animals maintained in the presence of mother animal, weaning of young rats on day 15 decreases body wt. and average rate of corticosterone production, increases biological activity of plasma corticosterone estimated tentatively by means of relative thymus wt; and increases liver capacity to hydrogenate-A ring of corticoids. No change was found in average total plasma corticosterone level. Correlation studies revealed that in prematurely weaned rats 76.5% of variation in wt. gains may be explained by adrenal function parameters in comparison to only 4.4% in young rats maintained with the mother animal. Within the group of young prematurely weaned rats relatively lower adrenal system activity seems to favor larger weight gains.
Cholinesterase reactivators - trimedoxim, methoxim and obidoxim - injected in the dose of 20 mg/kg s.c., increase muscle glycogen concentration in normal, but not in adrenalectomized rats. This effect may be in connection with simoultaneously found rise of serum corticosteron level. Trimedoxim decreases adrenaline, methoxim and obidoxim noradrenaline concentration in adrenals.
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