[Effect of antibiotic therapy on the functional state of the adrenal cortex in mice under irradiation]

Therapeutic efficacy of ampicillin on mice subjected to total irradiation with gamma-rays in a dose of 850 Gy and the effect of the antibiotic therapy on adrenocortical function in the irradiated animals were studied. It was found that the daily use of ampicillin over a period of the 3rd to the 10th day after the irradiation increased the survival rate of the animals by 30 per cent against 100 per cent death of the animals in the control group. An increase in the average life span of the irradiated animals in the test group was observed. The levels of corticosterone in the peripheral blood plasma of the irradiated animals in the test group was observed. The levels of corticosterone in the peripheral blood plasma of the irradiated animals not treated with the antibiotic markedly increased by the 6th and 10th day after the irradiation. The therapeutic use of ampicillin resulted in a significant decrease in the hormone level by the 10th day after the irradiation as compared to that in the control animals. Normalization of adrenocortical function in the animals treated with ampicillin promotes an increase in the rate of recovery from radiation injury.