Effects of cortisol and cocaine on plasma prolactin and growth hormone levels in cocaine-dependent volunteers.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over), published as a randomized controlled trial.

This study sought to assess central dopaminergic effects of cortisol in humans and to compare them to those of cocaine.

Why It Was Studied

In rodents, corticosterone (cortisol in humans) facilitates cocaine self-administration purportedly via enhancement of dopaminergic activity in the brain.

Their plasma was assayed over the next 120 min for prolactin and growth hormone (GH), which are two neuroendocrine indices of dopaminergic function.

Who Took Part

The age groups tagged for this paper are adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

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

The participants were allocated by chance, so the Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Blinding on both sides kept the participants and researchers unaware of who received Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over).

A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) group a baseline to be compared against.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Analysis of Variance, Cocaine, Cocaine-Related Disorders, Dopamine Agonists, Growth Hormone, Hydrocortisone and Prolactin.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over).

The publication is from 2005 (Addictive behaviors), a journal based in England.

More context: the Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) compound page, all human trials.