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(1) The excretion of 17-ketosteroids was determined in three normal men before, during and after extremely fatiguing work. The figures reported refer to 8-hour periods. (2) It was ascertained that 17-ketosteroid excretion was increased during fatiguing work.

The Subhuman Primate Pregnancy Tube Test (SHPT test) was useful for early pregnancy diagnosis in cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). Test results were correct in 86.5% of series of four successive urine samples. SHPT test results were not confirmed in 13.5% of series, comprising two (false) negative series in pregnant animals and 13 (false) positive series in nonpregnant animals. In ten of 13 false-positive series, a positive-negative sequence was observed in successive test results, presumably due to a decline in chorionic gonadotropin levels. In all animals with a false-positive SHPT test, early embryonic mortality was most probable, since all showed normal cycling activity immediately afterwards. Postmating bleeding records were not reliable for pregnancy diagnosis. A practical approach for the use of the SHPT test in the individual breeding of monkeys is given.

The excretion of Zimmermann chromogens was determined during 3 menstrual cycles in a woman with regular menstruation, suffering from Addison's disease following bilateral adrenalectomy. The 3 cycles investigated were normal (ovulatory) according to the conventional criteria. The medication given (DOCA, deoxycorticosterone-trimethyl-acetate (DOCTA), cortisone) gave rise to the excretion of small quantities of pregnanediol, pregnanolones and 11-oxygenated 17-ketosteroids in the urine. The progesterone produced in the corpus luteum gave rise to urinary excretion of pregnanediol and probably pregnanolones. The results obtained indicate that the ovarian secretion of precursors of 17-ketosteroids (17-hydroxyprogesterone and androst-4-en-3,17-dione) must be exceedingly small. No findings were obtained which indicate the existence of cyclic fluctuations in the ovarian secretion of precursors of neutral 17-ketosteroids.

In two male patients and two castrated males, the influence of corticotrophin (ACTH) on the urinary excretion of neutral 17-ketosteroids and 17-hydroxycorticosteroids was determined before and during a period in which patients were treated with 5 mg 17α-methyl-19-nortestosterone (MNT) daily. In two castrated males, moreover, the influence of chorionic gonadotrophin and ACTH + chorionic gonadotrophin on the urinary excretion of 17-ketosteroids and 17-hydroxycorticosteroids was determined before and during a period of treatment with 5 mg MNT daily. Prolonged administration of MNT causes a decrease in the urinary excretion of neutral 17-ketosteroids and 17-hydroxycorticosteroids both in the normal males and in the male castrates. ACTH caused an increase in the urinary excretion of 17-ketosteroids and 17-hydroxycorticosteroids before and during MNT administration. During MNT administration this increase (expressed in mg/24 hours) was ≤ the increase produced by the same dose of ACTH prior to MNT administration. In two male castrates treated with MNT, chorionic gonadotrophin caused no increase in the urinary excretion of 17-ketosteroids and 17-hydroxycorticosteroids. The effect obtained before and during MNT administration by administration of ACTH + chorionic gonadotrophin did not exceed the effect obtained by the same dose of ACTH alone. Our conclusion is that the effect of MNT on the excretion of adrenocortical steroids is not due to the inhibition of the ACTH secretion. The possibility of a direct effect of MNT on the adrenal cortex has not been excluded with complete certainty. A change in the corticosteroid metabolism due to the influence of MNT, however, must also be taken into consideration.

The testicular function tests I and II described by Jayle et al. (1957) were carried out before and during treatment with 17α-methyl-19-nortestosterone (MNT) in 6 males (sexual delinquents), 2 patients with mild testicular hypofunction and 4 male castrates. In the test performed it was impossible to demonstrate that MNT, in the doses given (5 mg/d for a few weeks) exerts a direct inhibitory influence on the production and/or secretion of precursors of 17-ketosteroids by the testes.

IN a series of publications Groen, Pelser, Frenkel, Kamminga and Willebrands1–6 have reported on the successful treatment of Addison's disease by extract of liquorice, glycyrrhizinic acid or glycyrrhetinic acid. It was shown that either the crude liquorice extract or its active component produced an effect on electrolyte metabolism which was entirely comparable to that of deoxycorticosterone, in a similar way to that already demonstrated by Borst et al. 7 in normal individuals.

IN searching for an experimental animal which, in regard to its steroid metabolism, would be suitable for an investigation into the mechanism of action of certain synthetic steroids, particularly 19-norsteroids, we decided to use the domestic pig. A few preliminary experiments were made, during which we determined, among other things, the concentration of Zmimermann chromogens in the urine of male and female pigs and in the urine of castrated animals, while the influence of chorionic gonadotrophin and adrenocorticotrophic hormone on the excretion of Zimmermann chromogens in adult male pigs was also determined. After these preliminary experiments we started to isolate and identify the substances which produce the Zimmer-mann reaction.