Abstract

Single doses of 45 or more mg of morphine sulfate administered to human male subjects were followed by decreased excretion of 17-KS.

Addiction to morphine, lasting from 35 to 144 days, caused a significant fall in the excretion of 17-KS. Evidence of partial tolerance to the depressant effect of morphine on urinary 17-KS appeared during periods of addiction lasting 143 days.

A striking rise in urinary 17-KS, with levels usually exceeding those of the predrug period, occurred on the second to fourth day of withdrawal. The maximal increase coincided with the most severe symptoms of abstinence and the greatest drop in eosinophil counts.

During recovery, urinary 17-KS returned to preaddiction levels.

Administration of ACTH (10 IU) resulted in a striking rise in 17-KS excretion and a fall in cosinophil counts during control, addiction, and recovery periods. Similar responses to 5 and 2½ units occurred.

Administration of 5000 units of chorionic gonadotropin over a 5-day period caused enhanced excretion of 17-KS which was greater during addiction than during control and recovery periods.

During addiction there was some evidence of delay in the response to hormonal stimulation. The maximal fall in eosinophil counts was sometimes retarded for about 2 hours after ACTH infusion. The maximal response to gonadotropin was usually postponed for 2 or more days. ACTH and gonadotropin administered in combination did not have additive effects on excretion of urinary 17-KS.

A cycle of morphine addiction did not affect the content of butanol-extractable iodine in blood serum.