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Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist in premenopausal women does not alter hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response to corticotropin-releasing hormone
Plain-language guide to PMID 29631362 (2018): double-blind randomized controlled trial study of ACTH (Corticotropin) and CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone).
Key Facts
- PMID
- 29631362
- Journal
- American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism
- Year
- 2018
- Study type
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Authors
- Gavin KM et al. (7 authors)
- DOI
- 10.1152/ajpendo.00221.2017
What This Study Did, in Plain Language
What Was Tested
Researchers studied ACTH (Corticotropin) and CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone) in this randomized controlled trial publication.
The objective was to isolate the effects of estradiol (E2) on central activation of the HPA axis.
Why It Was Studied
Sex hormones appear to play a role in the regulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity.
The researchers hypothesized that the HPA axis response to corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) under dexamethasone (Dex) suppression would be exaggerated in response to chronic ovarian hormone suppression and that physiologic E2 add-back would mitigate this response.
Who Took Part
PubMed indexes the participants as adults and middle-aged adults, women only.
How the Study Was Run
In design terms this was a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study.
Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got ACTH (Corticotropin) and who got the comparison, which limits bias.
Neither the participants 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.
What Was Measured
PubMed files the paper under topics including Adiposity, Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Body Composition, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone, Cortisone, Dexamethasone and Estradiol.
Author keywords: central adiposity, cortisol, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist and menopause.
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).
The publication is from 2018 (American journal of physiology. 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.
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.
Related Pages
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.