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. 1980;300:1–6. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1980.sp013146

The site of action of corticosteroid antipyresis in the rabbit.

G H Willies, C J Woolf
PMCID: PMC1279339  PMID: 7381781

Abstract

1. The antipyretic effects of corticosteroids on the fevers produced by bacterial and endogenous pyrogens in the rabbit were investigated. 2. Intravenous infusions of hydrocortisone and methyl prednisolone, when administered simultaneously with bacterial or endogenous pyrogens, failed to produce an antipyresis. 3. Pretreatment of rabbits with methyl prednisolone for 3 days diminished the febrile effect of both bacterial and endogenous pyrogens. 4. The fever produced by intrahypothalamic micro-injections of endogenous pyrogen was significantly attenuated by the simultaneous micro-injection of methyl prednisolone. 5. These results indicate that the antipyretic effect of steroids in the rabbit is the result not of a peripheral inhibition of endogenous pyrogen production, but rather of an action on the central nervous system.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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