Studies on the Adreno-Cortical Functions in “Ekiri”

Abstract

Determination of blood chemocorticoid and eosinophil-test were carried out with “ekiri”-, dysentery- and healthy infants.
1. In “ekiri”-patients, blood chemocorticoid value rose markedly in the first stage, fell rapidly in the course of illness, to reach gradually the normal value in the convalescent stage.
2. Mortal cases of “ekiri”demonstrated at the admission as well as in the course of illness a lower blood chemocorticoid level in general, as compared with non-mortal cases of the same disease.
3. The dysentery cases showed a similar shift of blood chemocorticoid level.
4. The blood level of chemocorticoid was in healthy infants 0.12-0.58 mg/dl with a rather great individual difference, 0.26 mg/dl on an average.
5. The number of eosinophils in the peripheral blood has recovered to an approximately normal count in the III or IV week of illness.
6. Eosinophil-test revealed a marked difference between “ekiri”and dysentery through the whole course of illness (40% difference on an average, a stochastically significant value). “Ekiri”demonstrated more marked reaction of insufficiency. Particularly the difference in the III-IV week suggested constitutional moments in “ekiri”-patients.
7. The counts of healthy infants were widely distributed between those of “ekiri” and dysentery, suggesting a continual shift between the two diseases.
8. These results led the author to the conclusion, that a latent insufficiency ofadreno-cortex as an immanent and constitutional tendency existed in “ekiri”-patients.