Changes of adrenal hormones in goats with experimentally induced arthritis

An experiment was carried out to clarify the mechanism of occurrence of arthritis in goats. In it changes of the adrenal hormones in blood and urine were examined in goats with experimentally induced arthritis. Four groups of goats were used. A goat of group B was inoculated with anaerobic Corynebacterium organisms isolated from a joint of a field case. Group H was treated with hormones (deoxycorticosterone acetate and adrenalin). Group BH was inoculated with those organisms and treated with these hormones. The other group served as an untreated control. Arthirits was induced to three of the four goats of group BH. The blood level of 11-hydroxycorticosteroids and the urine level of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids were higher in group BH than in any other group at the time of appearance of clinical signs. The hypofunction of the adrenal cortex was seen in two of three goats with induced arthritis. Serotonin increased transitorily in group BH around the time of appearance of clinical signs, but there was finally no difference in its level among goats with or without induced arthritis. There was no definite tendency in the fluctuation of level of adrenalin or noadrenalin.