The responses of pituitary hormones to insulin-induced hypoglycemia, lysine-8-vasopressin infusion and arginine infusion were examined in patients with Cushing's syndrome. In patients with adrenal hyperplasia, basal levels of plasma ACTH were slightly elevated and responses were preserved to both insulin-induced hypoglycemia and lysine-8-vasopressin infusion, though the magnitude of response was variable. All of the patients had an increase of plasma 11-hydroxycorticosteroids following lysine-8-vasopressin. After insulin-induced hypoglycemia, 11-hydroxycorticosteroids increased in only half of the patients. In patients with adrenal adenomas, plasma 11-hydroxycorticosteroid concentrations did not increase after insulin-induced hypoglycemia but there was a rise observed after lysine-8-vasopressin infusion. However, in patients with adrenal adenomas plasma ACTH was not detectable at any time during all of the studies. There was usually no increase of plasma GH concentration in response to any of the stimuli. The response of plasma LH to these stimuli was suppressed in some of the patients. After effective treatment, both the basal levels and the responses of pituitary hormones to insulin-induced hypoglycemia, lysine-8-vasopressin and arginine usually returned to normal.
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Demura et al. (1972) studied this question.