Adrenal cortical response to chronic hypoxia

¹ Laboratory of Thoracic Physiology, Department of Surgery; and Department of Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri

Although acute oxygen lack causes increased adrenal cortical activity, there is evidence that continued exposure to hypoxia is accompanied by a return of adrenal cortical function to its sea level status. To evaluate the adrenal cortical response in men living for 14–21 days above 21,000 ft, urinary output of 17-hydroxycorticoids was measured in ten members of a Himalayan mountaineering expedition and compared to values obtained subsequently at sea level. No significant difference in 17-hydroxycorticoid output was observed between the two altitudes. The response of four subjects to the administration of Su-4885 (Methopyrapone) showed that the pituitary-adrenal cortical system was still capable of response to additional stimulation.