Cardiovascular effects of urocortin 2 and urocortin 3 in patients with chronic heart failure

Plain-language guide to PMID 27275843 (2016): controlled clinical trial of ACTH (Corticotropin) and CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone) in 3 subjects.

Key Facts

PMID: 27275843
Journal: British journal of clinical pharmacology
Year: 2016
Study type: Controlled Clinical Trial
Authors: Stirrat CG et al. (7 authors)
DOI: 10.1111/bcp.13033

What This Study Did, in Plain Language

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of ACTH (Corticotropin) and CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone), published as a controlled clinical trial.

Urocortin 2 and urocortin 3 may play a role in the pathophysiology of heart failure and are emerging therapeutic targets.

The researchers aimed to examine the local and systemic cardiovascular effects of urocortin 2 and urocortin 3 in healthy subjects and patients with heart failure.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 3 subjects were involved.

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

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a placebo-controlled study.

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

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Blood Pressure, Cardiac Output, Cardiography, Impedance, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone, Forearm, Heart Failure and Heart Rate.

Author keywords: inotrope, urocortin and vasodilator.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a placebo-controlled study of ACTH (Corticotropin) and CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone) in 3 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.

Its findings take up roughly 5 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2016 (British journal of clinical pharmacology), a journal based in England.

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

Our Notes on the Compounds

ACTH (Corticotropin): The 39-amino-acid pituitary hormone that drives cortisol production; given as repository corticotropin (Acthar Gel).

CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone): The 41-amino-acid hypothalamic hormone that triggers ACTH release; corticorelin is used diagnostically.

Urocortin: A family of peptides related to CRH that act on the heart and stress-response system; studied in heart failure trials.

Source: PubMed record. This explanation is written by PeptideWhiz from the public record. For research and education only. Not medical advice; no dosing information is given.