← Human Trials & Peer-Reviewed Studies
High-dose corticotropin (ACTH) versus prednisone for infantile spasms: a prospective, randomized, blinded study
Plain-language guide to PMID 8604274 (1996): single-blind randomized controlled trial study of ACTH (Corticotropin).
Key Facts
- PMID
- 8604274
- Journal
- Pediatrics
- Year
- 1996
- Study type
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Authors
- Baram TZ et al. (6 authors)
What This Study Did, in Plain Language
What Was Tested
The paper reports a study of ACTH (Corticotropin), published as a randomized controlled trial.
AACTH and prednisone are standard treatments for IS.
Who Took Part
The age groups tagged for this paper are infants, both men and women.
Patient population consisted of consecutive infants fulfilling entry criteria, including the presence of clinical spasms, hypsarrhythmia (or variants) during a full sleep cycle video-EEG, and no prior steroid/ACTH treatment.
Response required both cessation of spasms and elimination of hypsarrhythmia by the end of the 2-week treatment period, as determined by an investigator "blinded" to treatment.
How the Study Was Run
The researchers set it up as a randomized, single-blind and crossover study.
Because people in this ACTH (Corticotropin) study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.
In this single-blind ACTH (Corticotropin) study one party knew the assignments and the other did not.
Each person switched between ACTH (Corticotropin) and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.
A time span of 12 days appears in the methods.
A prospective, randomized, single-blinded study.
Treatment of responders was tapered off over 12 days; those failing one hormone were crossed-over to the other.
What Was Measured
PubMed files the paper under topics including Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Electroencephalography, Prednisone and Spasms, Infantile.
What This Means in Plain Language
The paper is a randomized, single-blind and crossover study of ACTH (Corticotropin) over 12 days.
Its findings take up roughly 6 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.
The publication is from 1996 (Pediatrics), a journal based in United States.
More context: the ACTH (Corticotropin) compound page, all human trials.
Our Notes on the Compound
ACTH (Corticotropin): The 39-amino-acid pituitary hormone that drives cortisol production; given as repository corticotropin (Acthar Gel).
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.