title: Corticotropin-releasing hormone: clinical applications.
abstract: Corticotropin-releasing hormone, a 41-amino-acid peptide, is an important hypothalamic factor regulating the pituitary secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). This hormone, while rarely involved in the etiology of Cushing's syndrome, seems to play a major role in the pathogenesis of non-Cushing hypercortisolemic states. The administration of synthetic human and ovine CRH has been found useful in the differential diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome and in the preoperative localization of intrasellar ACTH-secreting tumors.
authors.affiliation: Developmental Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Nieman
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Loriaux
mesh_terms: D000309:Adrenal Insufficiency / Q000175:diagnosis; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000502:physiology; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000502:physiology; D003480:Cushing Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis
chemical_list: D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone