[Influence of hydrocortisone 17-butyrate 21-propionate on the visual and the auditory organs (author's transl)]

The visual toxicity and the ototoxicity of hydrocortisone 17-butyrate 21-propionate (HBP), a newly synthesized anti-inflammatory steroid, was investigated using rats and dogs. (1) Electroretinogram (ERG) and visually evoked potential (VEP) in rats were not changed when HBP was administered intravenously and intraperitoneally, even at the semilethal doses. Consequently, it was suggested that HBP had no effect on the visual nervous system. (2) Similar to other corticosteroids, the intra ocular pressure rose in the dogs received HBP. Nevertheless, these dogs showed neither the remarkable changes in ERG, in the fundus of the eye, in the histological examination, nor the turbidity of the cornea and the lens. Based on these facts, it was reasonable to think that the the rise in the intra ocular pressure caused by HBP was not so severe that induce the secondary influence to other visual functions. (3) The rats received HBP did not show any changes in the auditory function by the audiometry. As the result, HBP was thought to be one of the rather safety corticosteroids concerning the visual toxicity and the ototoxicity.