Cardiovascular responses to graded iv infusions of norepinephrine were observed in 24 dogs that had been treated for 1 week with either placebo, dexamethasone, or deoxycorticosterone. Eight dogs served as control and received daily iv injections of placebo; eight dogs received the mineralocorticoid, deoxycorticosterone; and eight received the glucocorticoid, dexamethasone. The three groups did not differ with respect to base-line hemodynamic variables either before administration of norepinephrine or after autonomic reflexes had been inhibited by ganglionic blockade. Comparisons of the three groups' hemodynamic responses to norepinephrine were made both before and after ganglionic blockade with the parallel line bioassay as a statistical test.
Phillip G. Schmid, John W. Eckstein, François M. Abboud