title: Short ACTH test in assessing hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical function.
abstract: The adrenocortical response to the simple 30-minute ACTH stimulation test was compared with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) response to insulin-induced hypoglycaemia in 25 patients with various degrees of hypothalamic-pituitary malfunction. The correlations between the increase in plasma cortisol during insulin hypoglycaemia and that during ACTH stimulation (r = 0-66) and between peak plasma cortisol levels during the two tests (r = 0-90) were highly significant. Peak plasma cortisol levels in individual patients were similar on both tests, no patient showing any major discrepancy between the two test results. Thus the simple 30-minute ACTH stimulation test seems to be reliable in detecting imparied HPA function.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000304:Adrenal Cortex Function Tests; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000502:physiology*; D007328:Insulin; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000502:physiology*; D010912:Pituitary-Adrenal Function Tests; D013268:Stimulation, Chemical
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D006854:Hydrocortisone