Obese patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome show a peculiar alteration of the corticotroph but not of the thyrotroph and lactotroph function

With respect to patients with simple abdominal obesity, obese patients with OSAS show a more remarkable enhancement of the ACTH response to CRH but a preserved TSH and PRL responsiveness to TRH. These findings indicate the existence of a peculiarly exaggerated ACTH hyper-responsiveness to CRH that would reflect hypoxia- and/or sleep-induced alterations of the neural control of corticotroph function; this further alteration is coupled to the previously described, peculiar reduction of somatotroph function.