A 47-year-old woman presented with a pituitary microadenoma manifesting as typical Cushing's syndrome. The diagnosis was Cushing's disease based on the endocrinological findings. Plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels were greatly increased from 66 pg/ml to 2490 pg/ml (about 38-fold) in response to the administration of 100 mg human growth hormone-releasing peptide (GHRP)-2. GHRP receptor type 1a messenger ribonucleic acid was detected in the tumor. Therefore, GHRP-2 may stimulate ACTH via the GHRP receptor type 1a in pituitary ACTH-producing tumor. The GHRP-2 test, currently clinically available in Japan, may be a useful diagnostic tool for Cushing's disease.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.