A positive corticotropin-releasing hormone test may obviate the need for petrosal sinus sampling in patients with cushing's disease

Plain-language guide to PMID 41493525 (2026): observational study of ACTH (Corticotropin) and CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone) in 523 patients.

Key Facts

PMID: 41493525
Journal: Journal of endocrinological investigation
Year: 2026
Study type: Observational Study
Authors: Losa M et al. (4 authors)
DOI: 10.1007/s40618-025-02803-1

What This Study Did, in Plain Language

What Was Tested

Researchers studied ACTH (Corticotropin) and CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone) in this observational study publication.

However, it is a cumbersome and costly procedure.

The researchers aim to determine whether the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) test alone might differentiate CD from ectopic adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) syndrome (EAS).

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 523 patients were involved.

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

In this retrospective, observational study the researchers investigated 523 consecutive patients with ACTH-dependent hypercortisolism: 502 with CD and 21 with EAS.

All patients underwent a CRH test and surgery for the removal of the ACTH-secreting tumor.

How the Study Was Run

Two hundred patients with CD and 17 with EAS underwent BIPSS.

The diagnostic CRH test performance included sensitivity (SE), specificity (SP), positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), accuracy, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), and negative likelihood ratio (NLR).

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone, Petrosal Sinus Sampling, Pituitary ACTH Hypersecretion, ACTH Syndrome, Ectopic, Diagnosis, Differential and Adrenocorticotropic Hormone.

Author keywords: Cushing’s disease, Ectopic ACTH, Hypercortisolism, Pituitary neoplasm and Pituitary surgery.

What This Means in Plain Language

This is an observational study of ACTH (Corticotropin) and CRH (Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone) in 523 patients.

With several hundred people or more, it is a fairly large study for this kind of research.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 6 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2026 (Journal of endocrinological investigation), a journal based in Italy.

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.

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.