The adrenalectomized rabbits were treated daily with compound F (CF), prednisolone (PD), β-methasone (BM), or DOCA. Some of them were treated with nitromin (NMO) combined with CF, or DOCA. The animals were examined as to their blood and bone marrow pictures. The results are as follows:
1) Erythrocytes: The administration of CF, PD, BM, or DOCA prevented anemia induced by adrenalectomy. The color indeces and reticulocyte counts showed no remarkable changes. In the bone marrow, too, CF and DOCA prevented hypoplasia of the erythroid system after adrenalectomy.
2) Diameter of erythroctes: The administration of CF or DOCA prevented the enlargement of the erythrocyte diameter after adrenalectomy. In general, the enlargement of the erythrocyte diameter ran parallel to the increase in the reticulocyte count.
3) Leucocytes: No remarkable change in W. B. C. count was observed in the untreated rabbits while those treated with CF and NMO showed decreases in the count. PD or BM were even, in dosages larger than those corresponding to CF (calculated by their antiinflammatory activity), found to be less potent than CF. The administration of DOCA showed no remarkable effect.
4) Pseudoeosinophils: The administration of NMO intensified the moderate decrease in pseudoeosinophil count brought on by adrenalectomy while the administration of CF increased the count even in those rabbits treated with NMO. In this respect PD and BM were found less potent than CF. DOCA reduced the fall in the pseudoeosinophil count.
5) Lymphocytes: Adrenalectomy by itself causes a slight increase in the lymphocyte count. The adrenalectomized rabbits treated with DOCA showed no change in the count; while the combined treatment with NMO caused a slight decrease. CF decreased the count considerably. In this respect, too, PD and BM were found less potent than CF.
6) Eosinophils: The eosinophil count, which had increased slightly after adrenalectomy, showed no change due to NMO administration. CF decreased the count both in the peripheral blood and in the bone marrow. The effect of DOCA was found inconsistent in the peripheral blood, but it seemed to cause a slight increase in the bone marrow.
7) Toxic granules in the pseudoeosinophils: The rate of the cells with toxic granules goes up after adrenalectomy in the peripheral blood as well as in the bone marrow. This effect was intensified by NMO administration, and lessened by CF or DOCA administration, CF being more potent than DOCA.
8) Body weight: The body weight loss, caused by adrenalectomy, was intensified by CF administration, while DOCA recovered it. NMO, in the dosage used in these experiments, caused no remarkable changes.
The results obtained may suggest that, although CF and DOCA are similarly effective in preventing the anemia caused by adrenalectomy, their effects on the leucocyte systems, i. e. lymphocytes and granulocytes, are quite different.
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