Effect of 2,2-bis(Parachlorophenyl)-l,l-Dichloroethane (DDD) on the Adrenal Cortex of the Rat

Abstract

WHILE DDD has been repeatedly shown to produce selective degeneration of the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex in the dog¹ when fed in daily doses of 50 mgm./kgm., no such effect has been found in rats receiving as much as 2,500 p.p.m. of the drug in the diet². Physiological changes have been described in rats fed 1,000 p.p.m. DDD which have been attributed to adrenal cortical dysfunction³, and histological damage has been reported after the injection of about 5 gm. over a period of 4–6 weeks⁴. Since a rat without zona fasciculata but with intact zona glomerulosa, adrenal medulla and pituitary would be of great help in the elucidation of certain problems of adrenal cortical function, attempts were made to produce degeneration of the zona fasciculata by injecting DDD in arachis oil. These attempts were unsuccessful, in agreement with the findings of Dr. I. C. Jones (personal communication) in both rats and mice, and so the regeneration of the adrenal cortex after medullectomy was observed in rats treated with DDD, since it was thought that this might be a sensitive test for a cytotoxic effect on the adrenal cortex.