EFFECT OF THYROID FUNCTION ON THE SECRETION OF ACTH AND CORTISOL / 解放军医学杂志

Patients with thyrotoxicosis had a normal circadian rhythm of ACTH and F,but the level of serum F was lower than controls due to excessive degradation.The responsiveness of ACTH to dexamet-hasone suppression or insulin hypoglycemic stimulation was normal.Whereas the circadian secretion of ACTH and F was also normal in patients with primary hypothyroidism,and the concentration of F was inreased with normal ACTH level.There were stunted responses of ACTH to suppressing and stimulating tests,which were thought to be due to the fact that the corticotropes were impaired by hypertrophy or hyperplasia of thyrotropes in primary hypothyroidism.