The primary event following the administration of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) is the immediate increase in steroid synthesis by the adrenal gland.1 Previous studies by numerous investigators suggested that this action of ACTH was the result of specific activation of enzymes.2' 3 However, studies showing that puromycin or chloramphenicol blocked the stimulation of corticosterone synthesis by ACTH suggested that protein synthesis was involved in this process.4 5 But

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As determined by electron-microscope autoradiography of adrenal glands containing tritiated cholesterol and by modified differential centrifugation techniques, 70 to 80 percent of adrenal cholesterol is contained within lipid droplets of rat adrenal cortical cells.

Background-Noninvasive measures of arterial compliance may be useful for the detection of subclinical atherosclerosis. Methods and Results-Measures of calf and thigh arterial compliance (MaxV50) were recorded in 267 subjects who also underwent MRI of the distal aorta to quantify distal aorta atherosclerosis. The average of calf and thigh MaxV50 was strongly predictive of extent of aortic atherosclerosis and risk of being in the top quartile of aortic atherosclerosis after adjustment for the Framingham Coronary Risk Score (FCRS) or the combination of the FCRS and C-reactive protein (PϽ0.0001). The areas under the receiver operating curves predicting the top quartile of gender-specific aortic atherosclerosis were 0.57, 0.60, and 0.75 for models containing the FCRS, the FCRS and C-reactive protein, and the FCRS, C-reactive protein, and the average of calf and thigh MaxV50. Conclusions-Lower-extremity arterial compliance may identify subjects with extensive subclinical atherosclerosis.Further studies examining the potential value of arterial stiffness as a screening tool to guide initiation of more aggressive preventive interventions are warranted.