EFFECT OF A SINGLE GLYCOCORTICOID INJECTION ON THE FIRST DAY OF LIFE IN RATS

Abstract

ABSTRACT A single large dose of glycocorticoid injected in the rat on the first day of life produces a fatal cachectic condition which is very similar to the wasting syndrome which follows post-neonatal thymectomy. After smaller doses the survival time is longer and the mortality rate is less. Body weights, weights of thymus, spleen and adrenals are lower in treated rats than in non-treated control littermates. So is the number of small lymphocytes in the peripheral blood and in the lymphoid organs.