Figure 3.

Changes in cortisol concentration after fludrocortisone administration. Serum cortisol concentration was measured before (−1.5 and 0 h) and between 1.5 and 8.25 h after oral administration of fludrocortisone (0.2 mg) or placebo. Values for the fludrocortisone condition are indicated as difference from the placebo condition to eliminate the well-known strong circadian variation in cortisol levels. Values shown as mean ± SEM of 13 healthy male subjects are adjusted to baseline measures (i.e., the first two samples before drug administration) based on covariance analyses. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, for pairwise comparisons between the effects of fludrocortisone and placebo at single time points (paired t-tests). See text for ANOVA results.