Premium
LACK OF INHIBITION OF ANTERIOR PITUITARY HORMONE RELEASE DURING CHRONIC TREATMENT WITH CALCIUM ANTAGONISTS
Author(s) -
D'ARMIENTO M.,
PONTECORVI A.,
BIGI F.,
CRISTOFARO A. M. DE,
REDA G.,
GRECO V.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
clinical endocrinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1365-2265
pISSN - 0300-0664
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2265.1984.tb03464.x
Subject(s) - medicine , endocrinology , verapamil , nifedipine , anterior pituitary , calcium , hormone , basal (medicine) , insulin
SUMMARY Calcium antagonists are widely used for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders, especially ischaemic heart disease. It has been demonstrated that these drugs, either in vitro or acutely administered in humans, inhibit the basal and stimulated secretion of pituitary hormones by blocking calcium influx through slow calcium channels. To see if a similar effect could be detected after their chronic administration, we studied the basal, TRH‐ and LHRH‐stimulated TSH, PRL, LH and FSH release in 18 male subjects with chronic stable angina before and on the 30th day of oral treatment with verapamil (n=8; 80 mg three times a day) or with nifedipine (n=10; 10 mg three times a day). Neither drug had any effect on basal TSH, PRL, LH and FSH values or on their response to the specific hypothalamic‐releasing hormones. These results suggest that the chronic administration of calcium antagonists, at the usual therapeutic doses, does not effect the process of stimulus‐secretidn coupling of anterior pituitary hormones, ruling out any impairment of the related target glands which have been expected on the basis of previous studies.