Corticosterone secretion in the rat after DSP-4 treatment

Functioning of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis was assessed in rats treated with DSP-4 (N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine), a selective noradrenergic neurotoxin. Although adrenal weights were slightly increased 10 days after DSP-4 injection, basal plasma corticosterone levels were unaltered compared to those of control animals. Moreover, the elevation of corticosterone levels induced by the stress of ether inhalation did not appreciably differ from that in control rats. These various results suggest that DSP-4 treatment has no marked effect on the normal functioning of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis.