Abstract

Sedative doses of chlorpromazine and other phenothiazine tranquilizing agents evoke a persistent hypersecretion of ACTH as measured by decreased levels of adrenal ascorbic acid, elevated levels of plasma corticosterone and increased liver TPO activity. Large, repeated doses of chlorpromazine can reduce the ACTH content of the pituitary to a level of about 30% of normal thus preventing response to stressful stimuli. Chlorpromazine, in smaller doses, does not prevent the adrenocortical response to stressful stimuli; it does produce maximal responses which cannot be further increased by a stimulus or by exogenous ACTH.