Intranasal atrial natriuretic peptide acts as central nervous inhibitor of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal stress system in humans

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at ACTH (Corticotropin) and CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone).

ACTH, cortisol, VP, blood pressure, heart rate, and measures of fluid balance were also recorded.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 18 men taking part.

The age groups tagged for this paper are adults, men 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 men nor the staff measuring them knew who was on ACTH (Corticotropin), so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with ACTH (Corticotropin) could be set against what happens without it.

Each person switched between ACTH (Corticotropin) and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

What Was Measured

ACTH, cortisol, VP, blood pressure, heart rate, and measures of fluid balance were also recorded.

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Atrial Natriuretic Factor, Blood Pressure, Brain, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone, Heart Rate and Hydrocortisone.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of ACTH (Corticotropin) and CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone) in 18 men.

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 (The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism), a journal based in United States.

More context: the ACTH (Corticotropin) compound page and the CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone) compound page, all human trials.