Frequently asked questions about ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH)

Name: ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH)
Brand: Thyrocare
SKU: TSTSFRMTHY0000135
Price: 750 INR
Availability: OnlineOnly

Question 1

What is ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH) test?

Accepted Answer

This test is known as ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH) which is offered by Thyrocare

Question 2

Is fasting required for ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH) test?

Accepted Answer

ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH) test  requires fasting

Question 3

For how many days in advance can ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH) test be booked?

Accepted Answer

You can book ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH) test upto 7 days in advance

Question 4

Why Get Tested?

Accepted Answer

To help diagnose adrenal and pituitary diseases such as Cushing syndrome, Cushing disease, Addison disease, adrenal tumors, and pituitary tumors

Question 5

When to Get Tested?

Accepted Answer

When you have symptoms associated with excess or deficient cortisol production; when your doctor suspects that you have a hormone imbalance that could be caused by a problem with your pituitary or adrenal glands

Question 6

Sample Required?

Accepted Answer

A blood sample drawn from a vein in your arm

Question 7

Test Preparation Needed?

Accepted Answer

Your doctor may request that you fast overnight before testing. Blood is typically drawn in the morning, about 8 a.m.

Question 8

What is being tested?

Accepted Answer

Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) is a hormone that stimulates the production of cortisol. Cortisol is a steroid hormone important for regulating glucose, protein, and lipid metabolism, suppressing the immune system's response, and helping to maintain blood pressure. This test measures the amount of ACTH in the blood.  ACTH is produced by the pituitary gland. Located below the brain in the center of the head, the pituitary gland is part of the endocrine system, a network of glands that work together to produce hormones that act on organs, tissues, and other glands to regulate systems throughout the body.  Normally, ACTH levels increase when cortisol is low and fall when cortisol is high. When cortisol levels fall in the blood, the hypothalamus produces corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). This stimulates the production of ACTH by the pituitary, which in turn stimulates the production of cortisol by the adrenal glands, small organs located at the top of each kidney. In order for appropriate amounts of cortisol to be made, the hypothalamus and both the pituitary and adrenal glands must be functioning properly.  Conditions that affect the pituitary or adrenal glands can increase or decrease the amount of ACTH and cortisol the glands produce and interfere with their regulation. This can cause signs and symptoms associated with an excess or deficiency of cortisol. Some tumors found outside of the pituitary in locations such as the lungs can also increase cortisol concentrations by producing ACTH.

Question 9

How is the sample collected for testing?

Accepted Answer

A blood sample is taken by needle from a vein in the arm.

Question 10

Is any test preparation needed to ensure the quality of the sample?

Accepted Answer

Your doctor may request that you fast overnight before testing. Blood is typically drawn in the morning, about 8 a.m.

Question 11

How is it used?

Accepted Answer

ACTH levels in the blood are measured to help detect, diagnose, and monitor conditions associated with excessive or deficient cortisol in the body. These conditions include:    Cushing disease: excess cortisol that is due to an ACTH-producing tumor in the pituitary gland (usually a benign tumor)  Cushing syndrome: refers to the symptoms and signs associated with excess cortisol. In addition to Cushing disease, Cushing syndrome may be due to an adrenal tumor, adrenal hyperplasia, the use of steroid medications, or due to an ACTH-producing tumor located outside the pituitary (ectopic), such as in the lungs.  Addison disease, also called primary adrenal insufficiency: decreased cortisol production due to adrenal gland damage  Secondary adrenal insufficiency: decreased cortisol production because of pituitary dysfunction  Hypopituitarism: pituitary dysfunction or damage that leads to decreased (or no) hormone production by the pituitary, including ACTH production   Measuring both ACTH and cortisol can help to differentiate among some of these conditions because the level of ACTH normally changes in the opposite direction to the level of cortisol.

Question 12

When is it ordered?

Accepted Answer

This test is ordered when someone has signs or symptoms associated with excess or deficient cortisol.  Too much cortisol can cause symptoms that include:    Obesity, with majority of the weight on the trunk of the body and not the arms and legs  Rounded face  Fragile and thin skin  Purple lines on the abdomen  Muscle weakness  Acne  Increased body hair   These are often accompanied by findings such as high blood pressure, low potassium, high bicarbonate, high glucose levels, and sometimes diabetes.  People with insufficient cortisol production may exhibit symptoms such as:    Muscle weakness  Fatigue  Weight loss  Increased skin pigmentation, even in areas not exposed to the sun  Loss of appetite   These are often accompanied by findings such as low blood pressure, low blood glucose, low sodium, high potassium, and high calcium.  Symptoms suggestive of hypopituitarism include loss of appetite, fatigue, irregular menstrual cycle, hypogonadism, decreased sex drive, frequent nighttime urination, and weight loss. When the condition is due to a pituitary tumor (usually benign), the affected person may also have symptoms associated with the compression of nearby cells and nerves. The tumor can affect the nerves controlling vision, causing symptoms such as "tunnel vision" (inability to see things off to the side), loss of vision to some localized areas, or double vision, and can cause a change in a pattern of headaches.

Question 13

What does the test result mean?

Accepted Answer

In many cases, the interpretation of the results can be complex. Levels of both ACTH and cortisol vary throughout the day. Normally, ACTH will be at its highest level in the morning and lowest at night. It will stimulate cortisol production, which will follow the same daily pattern but will rise after ACTH does and fall to its lowest level very late in the evening. Conditions that affect the production of ACTH and cortisol often disrupt this diurnal variation.  Results of ACTH and cortisol tests are often evaluated together. The table below indicates the common patterns of ACTH and cortisol seen with different diseases involving the adrenal and pituitary glands.        Disease   Cortisol   ACTH       Cushing disease (pituitary tumor producing ACTH)  High  High    Adrenal tumor  High  Low    "Ectopic" ACTH (ACTH made by a tumor outside the pituitary, usually in the lung)  High  High    Addison disease (underactive or damaged adrenal glands)  Low  High    Hypopituitarism  Low  Low  An increased ACTH result can mean that a person has Cushing disease, Addison disease, or ectopic ACTH-producing tumors. A decreased ACTH result can be due to an adrenal tumor, steroid medication, or hypopituitarism.  It is impossible to reliably distinguish Cushing disease and ectopic ACTH from cortisol and ACTH measurement alone. A variety of other tests, including dexamethasone suppression and inferior petrosal sinus blood collection, are often used to assist health practitioners in making this distinction.

Question 14

Is there anything else I should know?

Accepted Answer

If an abnormal level of ACTH and/or cortisol is detected, a health practitioner will do additional testing to help confirm the findings and to help determine its cause. Testing the change in the level of cortisol when certain drugs are given to stimulate or suppress hormone production often helps the health care provider make the right diagnosis.    If the findings of the initial tests indicate insufficient cortisol production, a health practitioner may order an ACTH stimulation test. This test involves measuring the concentration of cortisol in a person's blood before and after an injection of synthetic ACTH. If the adrenal glands are functioning normally, then cortisol levels will rise with the ACTH stimulation. If cortisol levels don't rise, it indicates adrenal failure as can occur in Addison disease or hypopituitarism.  If a person has a high cortisol level, a health practitioner may perform a dexamethasone suppression test to help determine whether the cause is related to excess ACTH production by the pituitary. This test involves analyzing a baseline sample for cortisol, then giving the person a high dose of oral dexamethasone (a synthetic glucocorticoid) and measuring cortisol levels in subsequent timed samples. Dexamethasone suppresses ACTH production and should decrease cortisol production if the source of the excess is pituitary-related.   For more on these, see the article on Cortisol.  A number of other drugs are sometimes used to stimulate or suppress cortisol production, including insulin, corticotropin releasing hormone, and metyrapone (metapyrone).  Some drugs and conditions can cause ACTH levels to rise, including amphetamines, insulin, levodopa, metoclopramide, and RU 486.  Drugs that cause ACTH to fall include dexamethasone and other drugs that act like cortisol, including prednisone, hydrocortisone, prednisolone, and methylprednisolone, and megestrol acetate.  Secretion of ACTH may be increased by stress.  ACTH has also been used therapeutically as a drug to treat multiple sclerosis.

Question 15

1. What is the difference between Cushing disease and Cushing syndrome?

Accepted Answer

Cushing disease is caused by a pituitary gland tumor (usually benign) that over-secretes the hormone ACTH, thus overstimulating the adrenal glands' cortisol production. Cushing syndrome refers to the signs and symptoms associated with excess cortisol in the body, regardless of the cause. In addition to a pituitary tumor, taking steroid hormones (often used to treat cancer or autoimmune diseases), adrenal gland tumors, and ACTH-producing tumors outside the pituitary gland can cause Cushing syndrome.

Question 16

2. What is Addison disease?

Accepted Answer

Addison disease is the lack of cortisol due to adrenal dysfunction, also called adrenocortical insufficiency. Damage or destruction of the adrenal cortex, leading to a lack of cortisol and other adrenal steroids, especially aldosterone, causes Addison disease.

Question 17

3. My doctor told me that my extra ACTH is not produced in my pituitary gland. What is going on?

Accepted Answer

In addition to an excess of ACTH from the pituitary gland, it can also come from elsewhere in the body. This is known as ectopic production of ACTH, which comes from tumors elsewhere in the body, usually (but not always) in the lungs. This causes Cushing syndrome and may alert your doctor to the presence of a tumor.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone Acth

Overview

What is ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH) test?

Is fasting required for ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH) test?

For how many days in advance can ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH) test be booked?

Common Questions

About Thyrocare Technologies Limited