The effects of noxious agents on carbohydrate metabolism.

The action of various so-called stress agents on carbohydrate metabolism is quite specific. Even with those stresses that produce marked changes in the carbohydrate levels of various tissues such as fasting, whole-body x irradiation, or hypoxia, the actual changes produced are characteristic of the agent or procedure employed. Although the mechanisms operative in each stress situation are unknown, it is quite clear that one common feature in the normal animal at least is the participation of the pituitary-adrenal system in a manner that is not yet completely understood It is probable that both the composition of the adrenal cortical secretion and the time course of the blood levels of the various adrenal corticoids are characteristic of the intensity and the nature of the stress situation. (auth)