The effect of nicardipine on pituitary hormone release in normal volunteers

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised, cross-over study of six healthy male subjects, the effect of nicardipine (5 mg h-1 for 3 h) on basal and stimulated pituitary hormone release was examined. Statistically significant differences between nicardipine and placebo were seen occasionally for follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinising hormone and prolactin, but not for thyroid-stimulating hormone. These differences were always within the between-batch coefficient of variation of the assay. The overall differences in both basal and stimulated results for all four pituitary hormones were not statistically significantly different. It is concluded, therefore, that nicardipine has no significant effect on either basal or stimulated pituitary hormone release in healthy male subjects.