A comparison of the effects of human and ovine corticotropin-releasing hormone on the pituitary-adrenal axis

What Was Tested

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

One hundred micrograms of CRH were administered as an iv bolus through an in-dwelling forearm cannula at 0930 h, and thereafter, blood was drawn every 15 min for 2 h for the measurement of ACTH and cortisol.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 3 patients were involved.

PubMed indexes the participants as adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized.

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

What Was Measured

One hundred micrograms of CRH were administered as an iv bolus through an in-dwelling forearm cannula at 0930 h, and thereafter, blood was drawn every 15 min for 2 h for the measurement of ACTH and cortisol.

The subject headings attached to it are Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone, Cushing Syndrome, Hydrocortisone, Obesity, Pituitary-Adrenal System and Sheep.

What This Means in Plain Language

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

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 publication is from 1995 (The Journal of clinical 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.