Intake of Potassium, an Important Consideration in Addison's Disease

Wilder, Russell M.; Kendall, Edward C.; Snell, Albert M.; Kepler, Edwin J.; Rynearson, Edward H.; Adams, Mildred

doi:10.1001/archinte.1937.00170190002001

Cited by 39 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In adrenalectomized rats, the aggravation of symptoms and the acceleration of their onset by diets high in potassium confirms previous work in cats (6), dogs (5) and patients with Addison's disease (7). As in dogs and humans, a diet low in potassium protects adrenalectomized rats from adrenal insufficiency.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…Among the prominent hypotheses for explaining the symptoms of adrenal cortical insufficiency are loss of sodium and chloride with accompanying changes in the distribution of body water (1, 2, 3); toxic effects of potassium (4,5,6,7); disturbance in the distribution of body water not clearly related to loss of sodium or retention of potassium (8); and disturbances in metabolism or carbohydrate (9). Since it seems, at present, bootless to attempt to relate the anomalies in carbohydrate metabolism to the disturbances in metabolism of water and electrolyte, this aspect of the function of the adrenal cortex will not be discussed.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Distribution of Body Water and Electrolytes in Adrenal Insufficiency 1

Harrison¹,

Darrow²

1938

J. Clin. Invest.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The mode of action of the hormone of the adrenal cortex necessary for life has been the subject of much discussion. Among the prominent hypotheses for explaining the symptoms of adrenal cortical insufficiency are loss of sodium and chloride with accompanying changes in the distribution of body water (1, 2, 3); toxic effects of potassium (4,5,6,7); disturbance in the distribution of body water not clearly related to loss of sodium or retention of potassium (8); and disturbances in metabolism or carbohydrate (9). Since it seems, at present, bootless to attempt to relate the anomalies in carbohydrate metabolism to the disturbances in metabolism of water and electrolyte, this aspect of the function of the adrenal cortex will not be discussed. The present investigation was undertaken to determine by tissue analyses the actual distribution of water and electrolyte in the tissues of adrenalectomized rats in relation to the toxic action of potassium and the therapeutic effect of sodium salts. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Healthy male albino rats weighing approximately 200 grams were adrenalectomized under ether anesthesia via the usual lumbar route. The majority of the animals were fed a low potassium diet of the following composition: lactalbumin 15 per cent, sucrose 25 per cent, dextrin 32 per cent, crisco 22 per cent, cod liver oil 1 per cent, yeast powder 2 per cent, bone ash 2 per cent and NaCl 1 per cent. One group of animals was fed a ration containing 1.5 grams of K,HPO, per 100 grams of the above diet. Diet 1 on analysis, was found to contain 0.03 per cent potassium whereas Diet 2 contained 0.7 per cent potassium. The animals were given distilled water, and the food and water intakes were measured daily.The adrenalectomized animals were divided into groups and treated as follows. The animals of the first group were sacrificed when symptoms of severe adrenal insufficiency were manifest. The time of onset of symptoms was exceedingly variable on Diet 1 so that the rats could not be sacrificed at stated intervals after operation if comparable results were to be obtained. Immediately after sacrificing the animals, the livers were removed and a sample of muscle was dissected off rapidly and freed of fat and connective tissue. The skin was removed in toto and the remainder of the carcass treated separately. All of the tissues were put into covered receptacles, weighed and then placed in an oven at 105°C. and dried until constant weight was attained.The dried tissues were ground to a powder in a small food chopper. The dried powdered tissues were kept in glass stoppered flasks and aliquots taken for analysis.One cubic centimeter samples of serum were accurately weighed in platinum dishes and the water content obtained by drying 24 hours in an oven at 1050 C. The dried residue was ashed in a furnace at 5000 C. for 2 hours.Serum chloride was determined by the method of Van Slyke and Sendroy (10). The tissue chloride was determined after ashing the material at 4500 C. in the presence of a large excess of sodium carbonate. Th...

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Distribution of Body Water and Electrolytes in Adrenal Insufficiency 1

Harrison¹,

Darrow²

1938

J. Clin. Invest.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is noted from this figure that the decreased potassium excretion that followed each period of sodium administration can only partially be accounted for by the decreased catabolism of protein that occurred at that time. Knowing that desoxycorticosterone, the salt-and-water hormone par excellence, produces an increased renal excretion of potassium (37,38) while patients with Addison's disease and adrenalectomized animals have a decreased ability to excrete potassium (1,39), this observed drop in potassium excretion is taken to be, at least in part, the result of a de-.creased salt-and-water hormone activity occurring at this time when there is a large renal sodium excretion. Unfortunately, the serum potassium concentration was not determined immediately following the days of lowest urinary potassium excretion to ascertain whether or not an elevation of serum potassium occurred as a result of this decreased renal potassium excretion.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence That Renal Sodium Excretion by Normal Human Subjects Is Regulated by Adrenal Cortical Activity 1

Leaf¹,

Couter²,

Lutchansky³

et al. 1949

J. Clin. Invest.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…It will be seen in Figure 1A that there is a fairly constant difference between ingested chloride and the sodium and chloride recovered in the urine. This difference is attributed to the excretion of those ions by feces and sweat and apparently is greater 2 The recent study by Wilder et al (12) indicates that the average daily potassium content of 4.2 grams in our diet is higher than the optimum in the treatment of Addison's disease. 8 The difference in the average content of sodium and chloride of the two diets employed was 0.8 meq.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 74%