Enhanced circadian ACTH release in obese premenopausal women: reversal by short-term acipimox treatment

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of ACTH (Corticotropin), published as a randomized controlled trial.

Blood samples were taken during 24 h with a sampling interval of 10 min for assessment of plasma ACTH and cortisol concentrations.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 9 women taking part.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were adults, women only.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover.

Because people in this ACTH (Corticotropin) study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

Neither the women nor the staff measuring them knew who was on ACTH (Corticotropin), so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the ACTH (Corticotropin) group a baseline to be compared against.

In the crossover set-up each of the women took both ACTH (Corticotropin) and the comparison in turn, acting as their own control.

What Was Measured

Blood samples were taken during 24 h with a sampling interval of 10 min for assessment of plasma ACTH and cortisol concentrations.

The subject headings attached to it are Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Circadian Rhythm, Down-Regulation, Fatty Acids, Nonesterified, Follicular Phase, Hydrocortisone and Hypolipidemic Agents.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of ACTH (Corticotropin) in 9 women.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 2004 (American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism), a journal based in United States.

More context: the ACTH (Corticotropin) compound page, all human trials.