Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in panic disorder. 24-hour secretion of corticotropin and cortisol

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of ACTH (Corticotropin), published as a controlled clinical trial.

Oversecretion of corticotropin-releasing hormone and/or dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis may contribute to pathophysiologic processes in panic disorder, but documentation of HPA axis disturbance in panic has been inconsistent.

In the current study the researchers examined HPA axis activity in panic disorder over a full circadian cycle, using frequent blood sampling to provide detailed assessment of corticotropin and cortisol secretion.

Who Took Part

The study group was 12 subjects.

The age groups tagged for this paper are teenagers and adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

Blood samples were drawn every 15 minutes for 24 hours and assayed for corticotropin and cortisol levels.

What Was Measured

In the current study the researchers examined HPA axis activity in panic disorder over a full circadian cycle, using frequent blood sampling to provide detailed assessment of corticotropin and cortisol secretion.

PubMed files the paper under topics including Activity Cycles, Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Age of Onset, Circadian Rhythm, Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic, Hydrocortisone and Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System.

What This Means in Plain Language

This is a controlled clinical trial of ACTH (Corticotropin) in 12 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.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 7 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 1996 (Archives of general psychiatry), a journal based in United States.

More context: the ACTH (Corticotropin) compound page, all human trials.