Study on physiopathology of the chronic psychoorganic syndrome. Investigation on the reactivity of the adrenal glands in patients with psychoorganic chronic.

Out of a great number of cases with chronic psychoorganic syndrome studied by us, we have selected, for investigation, a number of 100 cases which presented common symptomatology: a psychosyndrome showing, by a large number of manifestations such as asthenia, fatigability, adynamia with various degrees of intensity building up to reaction latency, diminution or even absence of initiative, basic-negativism, tendency to depression with feeling of futility, anxiety, lowered affective tonus. The intellectual activity is largely diminished, the stream of ideas is poor, and there is a limited domain of preoccupations. All these symptoms alongside with somatic, muscular, renal, respiratory, digestive and cardiovascular disorders have led us to the hypothesis of chronic deficiency of the hormones in the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands have been studied by indirect exploration of the hydroelectrolytic metabolism of the peripheral blood, the Thorn test and the Robinson-Power-Kepler test. For the exploration of the glucocorticoids, a basal test has been used such as the 17-hydroxycorticoid test, which measures cortisol elimination, or as the 11-desoxycorticosteroids and metabolites, or the colorimetric Porter-Silber method. Among the dynamic tests, we have used stimulating tests, the ACTH test (synthetic Synachtene), which measures cortisolemia and the 17-urinary corticosteroids, faster and easier than the Thorn test. In order to assess androgens, we have used the ACTH deposit dynamic test (Synachtene retard), which in the case of normal function of the adrenal glands, in 24 hours, doubles the elimination of 17-hydrocorticosteroids, 17-Ketosteroids, D. H. E. A., pregnandiol, pregnantriol.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)