Response to Adrenocorticotrophic Hormone in Clinical Scurvy.

Summary 1. Test doses of ACTH were administered to 5 patients with classical scurvy to assess their adrenal cortical activity. The test was repeated in 4 of these patients after therapy with ascorbic acid. 2. The blood eosinophil response to ACTH was that expected of individuals with normal adrenal function and did not change following treatment with ascorbic acid. 3. The urinary excretion of uric acid after ACTH was uninterpretable because of low urine volumes. 4. The blood glutathione, and the serum sodium concentrations were normal or low in these patients, but were unaltered by ascorbic acid therapy. Serum potassium concentrations were normal before and after ascorbic acid therapy. 5. To explain these evidences of normal adrenal cortical activity in scurvy, it may be postulated that either ascorbic acid is not necessary for these adrenal functions, or there was residual ascorbic acid in the adrenals of these patients.