Published in Volume
46, Issue 11 (November 1967)
J Clin Invest. 1967;46(11):1768–1777.
doi:10.1172/JCI105667.
Copyright ©
1967, The American Society for
Clinical Investigation.
Articles
The Effects of Estradiol and Estriol on Plasma Levels of Cortisol and Thyroid Hormone-Binding Globulins and on Aldosterone and Cortisol Secretion Rates in Man*
Fred H. Katz and Attallah Kappas‡
Department of Medicine and the Argonne Cancer Research Hospital, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois§
‡ Present address: The Rockefeller University Hospital, New York, N. Y. 10021.
* Received for publication 15 May 1967 and in revised form 10 July 1967.
§ Operated by the University of Chicago for the United States Atomic Energy Commission.
Published November 1967
The effects of estriol and estradiol on the plasma levels of cortisol- and thyroxine-binding globulin activity, and on the secretion rates of aldosterone and cortisol were studied in man. The metabolite estriol had no consistent or significant influence on plasma levels of the hormone-binding globulin activities; the hormone estradiol increased these binding capacities significantly, as expected. Cortisol secretion rate rose slightly after estriol but was unchanged after estradiol. Both compounds induced substantial increases in the aldosterone secretion rate of most treated subjects. The mechanism of this apparently paradoxical effect of estrogens is not clear; it is suggested that the “salt-retaining” action of estrogens is mediated in part by the rapid enhancement of aldosterone output which follows their administration in man. Balance experiments in four subjects suggest that both estradiol and estriol may induce a transient early natriuresis in man; but other mechanisms for estrogen stimulation of aldosterone secretion may be operative as well.
Browse pages
Click on an image below to see the page. View
PDF of the complete article