Effects of ghrelin, GH-releasing peptide-6 (GHRP-6) and GHRH on GH, ACTH and cortisol release in hyperthyroidism before and after treatment

In thyrotoxicosis GH responses to stimuli are diminished and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis is hyperactive. There are no data on ghrelin or GHRP-6-induced GH, ACTH and cortisol release in treated hyperthyroidism. We, therefore, evaluated these responses in 10 thyrotoxic patients before treatment and in 7 of them after treatment. GHRH-induced GH release was also studied. Peak GH (μg/L; mean ± SE) values after ghrelin (22.6 ± 3.9), GHRP-6 (13.8 ± 2.3) and GHRH (4.9 ± 0.9) were lower in hyperthyroidism before treatment compared to controls (ghrelin: 67.6 ± 19.3; GHRP-6: 25.4 ± 2.7; GHRH: 12.2 ± 2.8) and did not change after 6 months of euthyroidism (ghrelin: 32.7 ± 4.7; GHRP-6: 15.6 ± 3.6; GHRH: 7.4 ± 2.3), although GH responses to all peptides increased in ~50% of the patients. In thyrotoxicosis before treatment ACTH response to ghrelin was two fold higher (107.4 ± 26.3) than those of controls (54.9 ± 10.3), although not significantly. ACTH response to GHRP-6 was similar in both groups (hyperthyroid: 44.7 ± 9.0; controls: 31.3 ± 7.9). There was a trend to a decreased ACTH response to ghrelin after 3 months of euthyroidism (35.6 ± 5.3; P = 0.052), but after 6 months this decrease was non-significant (50.7 ± 14.0). After 3 months ACTH response to GHRP-6 decreased significantly (20.4 ± 4.2), with no further changes. In hyperthyroidism before treatment, peak cortisol (μg/dL) responses to ghrelin (18.2 ± 1.2) and GHRP-6 (15.9 ± 1.4) were comparable to controls (ghrelin: 16.4 ± 1.6; GHRP-6: 13.5 ± 0.9) and no changes were seen after treatment. Our results suggest that the pathways of GH release after ghrelin/GHRP-6 and GHRH are similarly affected by thyroid hormone excess and hypothalamic mechanisms of ACTH release modulated by ghrelin/GHSs may be activated in this situation.