Dexamethasone Acetate/camphor/Menthol

A number of 11-deoxysteroid compounds were tested at low and differing dose levels for their lactation-maintaining effect in adrenalectomized rats, the compounds being implanted subcutaneously in tablet form. Reichstein's compound S acetate was active, but Reichstein's compound L, 21-acetoxy pregnenolone, Δ5-pregnenolone acetate, Δ16-progesterone, 17-vinyltestosterone, 17-hydroxy-21-acetoxy Δ1-allopregnene-3, 20-dione, 3-(β)-21-diacetoxy allopregnane-20-one and allopregnane-21-ol-3, 20-dione acetate were inactive.The ovaries of adrenalectomized lactating rats were found to exert a lactation-maintaining effect equivalent to that of about 3·1 mg progesterone daily. Progesterone showed a high threshold in its effect on lactation in adrenalectomized-ovariectomized rats.In adrenalectomized-ovariectomized lactating rats Reichstein's compound S acetate maintained lactation as effectively as deoxycorticosterone acetate (DCA) or cortisone. When used together in such rats DCA and cortisone acted synergistically. This synergism was not shown by cortisone and compound S acetate, but may have been shown to a lesser extent by DCA and compound S acetate. Lactational performance was not improved when the dose of DCA used daily with 1·1 mg cortisone was increased to above 0·43 mg daily, nor did the addition of 0·55 mg compound S acetate daily to this level of DCA and cortisone have a significant effect.Adrenalectomized-ovariectomized lactating rats given DCA and compound S acetate increased in body weight, whereas those given cortisone lost weight.There was a very high correlation between the mean food intakes and the mean litter-growth indices for treatment groups in all experiments.

Cortisone (Kendall's compound E) acetate inhibited the growth of the mammary glands (mammae) of intact and oestrone-treated ovariectomized CHI mice, both the growth in area and increase in the number of duct junctions of the mammae being affected. Kendall's compound A acetate, Kendall's compound F and Reichstein's compound S acetate had effects on the mammae which were similar qualitatively to those of cortisone acetate, but differed quantitatively. DCA, on the other hand, acted synergistically with oestrone to increase the total area of the mammae and the number of side branches of the duct systems, but did not cause the growth of alveoli. When used alone, neither cortisone acetate nor compound S acetate affected the mammae of ovariectomized mice, while DCA caused duct growth in about half of the mice to which it was given.DCA and Reichstein's compound S acetate, both alone and in combination with oestrone, increased the weights of the uteri of ovariectomized mice. Compound S acetate increased the weight of the uteri of mice given 0·02 μg oestrone daily, but not of those given 0·01 μg daily.Cortisone acetate at a dose of 100 μg daily, but not of 50 μg inhibited body growth and reduced the size of the adrenal glands. At both dose levels it caused a decrease in the weight of the thymus glands. Kendall's compounds A (acetate), F and B and Reichstein's compound S acetate, at the doses used, did not affect body weight, but did reduce the weight of the thymus gland, and all, except compound B (which was used only at a low dose), reduced adrenal gland weight.ACTH did not affect the mammae of ovariectomized mice when given alone, but inhibited oestrone-induced growth of the mammae in ovariectomized mice. It caused an increase in the weight of the adrenal gland and decreased the weight of the thymus, but did not affect that of the uterus either in ovariectomized or oestrone-treated ovariectomized mice.The value of the number of duct junctions per unit area as an index of mammary gland architecture is discussed.