Gender determines ACTH recovery from hypercortisolemia in healthy older humans

What Was Tested

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

Available clinical data raise the possibility that stress-adaptive mechanisms differ by gender.

However, this notion has not been rigorously tested in relation to cortisol-mediated negative feedback.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 20 subjects taking part.

The age groups tagged for this paper are middle-aged adults, older adults and people over 80, both men and women.

Degree of ACTH inhibition during and recovery from an experimental cortisol clamp was tested in 20 healthy older subjects (age 60±2.2 y).

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study.

The subjects were allocated by chance, so the ACTH (Corticotropin) group and the comparison group should start out alike.

As a double-blind ACTH (Corticotropin) study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

Some subjects received a placebo instead of ACTH (Corticotropin), giving a reference point.

ACTH and cortisol concentrations were measured every 10 min during the feedback-clamp phase and thereafter (recovery or escape phase).

Corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) was measured, and free cortisol concentrations were calculated.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Body Composition, Hydrocortisone, Immunoassay, Ketoconazole, Models, Statistical and Sex Characteristics.

The authors tagged it with the keywords ACTH, AVP, Aging, CRH, Cortisol and E(2).

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of ACTH (Corticotropin) in 20 subjects.

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 abstract goes on to report its results in about 5 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2013 (Metabolism: clinical and experimental), a journal based in United States.

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