[Anterior pituitary function before and after treatment in twenty-three patients with isolated adrenocorticotropic...

Anterior pituitary function in 23 patients (16 men and 7 women, aged 27 to 68) with isolated ACTH deficiency was analyzed. Four were our own cases while the other 19 cases were ascertained by questionnaire. Both the baseline TSH levels and the peak TSH responses to TRH were high before treatment in more than half the cases but were normalized after treatment. This abnormality was found in patients younger than 50. The peak prolactin responses to TRH were excessive before and after treatment in three-fourths of the cases but decreased after treatment. The peak HGH responses to ITT were excessive in 3 patients before treatment an increased after treatment in 5 out of 6 cases. The peak LH and FSH responses to LH-RH were low or high in 20-30% of cases, but these abnormal responses were reduced to half after treatment. These results demonstrate that many disorders of the anterior pituitary function were found in patients with isolated ACTH deficiency but that these disorders became normal after treatment.