Histidyl-proline diketopiperazine is produced in brain as a product of the metabolism of thyrotropin-releasing hormone. A number of the previously observed central nervous system and pituitary activities resulting from an exposure to thyrotropin-releasing hormone appear to involve the conversion of the releasing factor to the cyclic dipeptide. In the present study, the development of a rabbit a...

In eight patients with classical Huntington's chorea hypothalamic function was assessed by the insulin tolerance test, the thyrotrophin releasing hormone test, the gonadotrophin releasing hormone test and water deprivation and the results compared with those of 10 control subjects. All patients ceased to have choreiform movements for approximately 60 minutes during the insulin tolerance test. F...

We report the regulation of type 1 receptor mRNA in Y-79 human retinoblastoma cells, grown in the absence or presence of pharmacological levels of phorbol esters, forskolin, glucocorticoids and their combinations. To control for inducibility and for assessing the sensitivity of the Y-79 system to glucocorticoids, corticotropin releasing hormone mRNA levels were measured in parallel. All treatme...

OBJECTIVE Spontaneous labor at term involves the activation of placental corticotropin-releasing hormone and the fetal adrenal axis, but the basis for extreme preterm labor is unknown. Our objective was to determine whether placental corticotropin-releasing hormone is activated in extreme preterm labor. STUDY DESIGN One thousand five hundred six mothers delivering at less than 28 weeks' gesta...

Growth hormone-releasing peptides (GHRPs) are synthetic, non-natural peptides endowed with potent stimulatory effects on somatotrope secretion in animals and humans. They have no structural homology with GHRH and act via specific receptors present either at the pituitary or the hypothalamic level both in animals and in humans. The GHRP receptor has recently been cloned and, interestingly, it do...

A 68-year-old woman was admitted to determine the pathogenesis of weight loss and polyuria. Physical findings on admission showed BMI of 20.9, blood pressure of 147/69 mmHg, and that she had ciliac, axillar and pubic hair loss. Laboratory findings showed that plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) was 4.6 pg/mL with serum cortisol of 1.2 µg/dL. Serum luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-sti...