Normal cortisol secretion in sickle cell anemia.

In the present work, 14 sickle cell anemia patients and 16 normal controls were submitted to rapid ACTH stimulation test for basal cortisol determination. No significant differences were observed between the two groups for the basal and stimulated cortisol levels or for the increment at 30, 50 and 120 min. after infusion. The results obtained for the basal cortisol were in disaccordance with a previous report; however, we used a sensitive test to detect precocious involvement of the adrenal glands. This suggests that in sickle cell anemia there is not hypocortisolism. The adrenal gland is vascularized by several arteries and so the sickling phenomenon may be unusual in the adrenal cortex.