This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit a related Letter to the Editor Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by RÖJDMARK, S. Articles by LAMMINPÄÄ, K. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by RÖJDMARK, S. Articles by LAMMINPÄÄ, K.

Prolactin and Thyrotropin Responses to Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone and Metoclopramide in Men with Chronic Alcoholism

Departments of Internal Medicine II and Clinical Chemistry Sodersjukhuset, 100 64 Stockholm 38, Sweden

Address requests for correspondence to: Dr. Sven Rojdmark, Department of Internal Medicine II, Sodersjukhuset, 100 64 Stockholm 38, Sweden.

To investigate whether anterior pituitary function is disturbed in chronic alcoholic men after a period of alcohol abuse, TSH and PRL secretagogues were given to such patients in the acute and late withdrawal states (1 and 8 days after admission to hospital, respectively). The TSH and PRL responses were compared with those obtained in a group of control patients without a history of alcohol abuse. Twenty five micrograms of TRH, injected iv in six alcoholic men during acute withdrawal, raised TSH by 1.6 ± 0.8 (SEM) µU/ml and PRL by 18 ± 7 ng/ml. In the seven control patients the corresponding responses were significantly larger (7.8 ± 1.4 µU/ml, P < 0.01; and 56 ± 10 ng/ml, P < 0.02, respectively). When the alcoholics were reinvestigated in the late withdrawal state their TSH and PRL responses increased significantly to 2.9 ± 1.1 µU/ml (P < 0.05) and 41 ± 9 ng/ml (P < 0.05), respectively. To determine whether dopaminergic inhibition contributed to the reduced TSH and PRL responsiveness in the acute withdrawal state, six additional chronic alcoholic men were tested with oral metoclopramide. This drug, which has dopamine D2-receptor blocking properties, induced similar PRL responses (7- to 8-fold PRL increments) in the acute and late withdrawal states but did not alter TSH. Furthermore, TRH, injected 90 min after oral priming with metoclopramide in six additional alcoholics, elicited TSH and PRL increments in the acute withdrawal state which did not differ significantly from those obtained in the late withdrawal state (TSH, 3.5 ± 0.9 vs. 4.1 ± 1.2 µU/ml; PRL, 27 ± 3 vs. 24 ± 6 ng/ml). These findings suggest that dopaminergic inhibition of the thyrotrophs and lactotrophs may be responsible for the blunted TSH and PRL responses to TRH during the acute withdrawal period in chronic alcoholic patients.

Received January 20, 1984.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. OZSOY, E. ESEL, H. B. IZGI, and S. SOFUOGLU THYROID FUNCTION IN EARLY AND LATE ALCOHOL WITHDRAWAL: RELATIONSHIP WITH AGGRESSION, FAMILY HISTORY, AND ONSET AGE OF ALCOHOLISM Alcohol Alcohol., September 1, 2006; 41(5): 515 - 521. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. B. Moss, S. Guthrie, and M. Linnoila Enhanced Thyrotropin Response to Thyrotropin Releasing Hormone in Boys at Risk for Development of Alcoholism: Preliminary Findings Arch Gen Psychiatry, December 1, 1986; 43(12): 1137 - 1142. [Abstract] [PDF]