Glomerulonephritis in Pressor Drug-Enhanced Serum Sickness of Rabbits.

Summary Repeated intravenous injections of blood pressure elevating drugs given shortly after a single large intravenous dose of horse serum markedly increased the incidence and severity of diffuse glomerulonephritis in rabbits sacrificed on the 11th day. Only minimal glomerular lesions were observed if the pressor agents were given at a later period. The implication of these findings is that these agents augment the development of renal damage in serum sickness when administered at a time when circulating antigen levels in the blood are high and that they may suppress this reaction when given at a time when antigen levels are rapidly falling and antibody levels rising.