BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Corticotropin releasing factor is an endogenous neuropeptide released by the hypothalamus that activates the pituitary-adrenocortical system in response to stressful stimuli. It has been demonstrated that corticotropin releasing factor increases the excitability of hippocampal neurons in both in vitro and in vivo studies, which may contribute to neurological injury during...

sheep of 118-135 days increase sharply their cortisol output in response to low corticotropin concentrations. At 140145 days (term = 145 days) the response of adrenal cells to corticotropin stimulation was essentially the same with a small increase only over total output at 118-135 days. Corticosterone production from the foetal adrenal was always no more than half of that for cortisol, and fel...

BACKGROUND The corticotropin-releasing factor is a stress-related neuropeptide that modulates locus coeruleus activity. As locus coeruleus has been involved in pain and stress-related patologies, we tested whether the pain-induced anxiety is a result of the corticotropin-releasing factor released in the locus coeruleus. METHODS Complete Freund's adjuvant-induced monoarthritis was used as infl...

The corticotropin-induced increase of total intracellular and receptor-bound cyclic AMP in isolated rat adrenocortical cells was strictly dependent on extracellular Ca(2+). A rise in bound cyclic AMP with rising Ca(2+) concentrations was accompanied by a decrease in free cyclic AMP-receptor sites. A Ca(2+)-transport inhibitor abolished the rise in bound cyclic AMP induced by corticotropin. Thes...

A radioimmunoassay is described for plasma corticotropin whereby concentrationsover the range of 6 to 1000 ng/liter can be measured. Corticotropin extracted from plasma on fuller’s earth under carefully standardized conditions is assayed by a long-used double antibody radioimmunoassay procedure. Within (n = 6) and between (n = 12) assay precision is 39 ± 2 (SD) ng/liter and 44 ± 6 (SD) ng/liter...

Amphetamine use is associated with dysphoric states, including heightened anxiety, that emerge within 24h of withdrawal from the drug. Corticotropin-releasing factor increases serotonin release in the central nucleus of the amygdala, and this neurochemical circuitry may play a role in mediating fear and anxiety states. We have previously shown that chronic amphetamine treatment increases cortic...

The effects of glycyrrhizin on the pituithry adrenal axis were studied. Isolated rat anterior pituitary glands were incubated with 14C-phenylalanine and biosynthetic activity of corticotropin in the pituitary was estimated. The rate of incorporation of radioactivity from 14C-phenylalanine into corticotropin fraction in the rat anterior pituitary was increased specifically by prior adrenalectomy...

Determination by radioimmunoassay of corticotropin in the brains of rats, rabbits, dogs, monkeys, and human beings reveals that the dimensions within which the hormone is found is about the same for each of these species but that the anatomical regions in which the hormone is found depends on brain size. Corticotropin is widely distributed in the brain of rats but is found only in the hypothala...

OBJECTIVE To assess the clinical utility and safety of the low-dose corticotropin stimulation test in the diagnosis of secondary adrenocortical insufficiency. DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING Regional hospital, Hong Kong. PARTICIPANTS Seventy-two Chinese patients with suspected secondary adrenocortical insufficiency. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Serum cortisol response during the low-dose cort...

BACKGROUND Pituitary and adrenal responsiveness is suppressed in abstinent alcohol-dependent individuals. To clarify the specific organizational disruption in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal functioning during early abstinence, the authors separately assessed each level of the stress-response axis. In this second of a two-part study, ovine corticotropin-releasing factor (oCRH) was used to stimul...