Effect of corticotrophin-releasing hormone on arginine vasopressin and atrial natriuretic factor in patients with Cushing's disease

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at ACTH (Corticotropin) and Vasopressin.

To evaluate the effect of CRH administration on plasma AVP and ANF concentration in patients with Cushing's disease and healthy subjects.

Who Took Part

The study group was 15 patients.

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

Fifteen patients with Cushing's disease and 15 sex- and age-matched healthy subjects entered the study.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized and placebo-controlled.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got ACTH (Corticotropin) and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Some patients received a placebo instead of ACTH (Corticotropin), giving a reference point.

Blood samples for plasma AVP and ANF assay were taken before and every 15 min for 2 hr after CRH or placebo.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Analysis of Variance, Arginine Vasopressin, Atrial Natriuretic Factor, Case-Control Studies, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone and Cushing Syndrome.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and placebo-controlled study of ACTH (Corticotropin) and Vasopressin in 15 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.

Its findings take up roughly 10 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 1998 (Clinical endocrinology), a journal based in England.

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