Cimetidine and adrenals.

An H2-antagonist, cimetidine, reduces in the rat normal plasma corticosterone levels and strongly antagonizes their increase after cold stress. This latter effect is dose dependent. Plasma corticosterone reduction by cimetidine lasts 4 h both in normal and stress situations. Both a hypophyseal or adrenal site of action of the drug may be involved in the inhibition of adrenocortical secretion.