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Growth Hormone and Cortisol Secretion after Oral and Intravenous Administration of Methyldopa

1975; Wiley; Volume: 37; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1600-0773.1975.tb00843.x

0001-6683

Erkka Syvälahti, Pentti Seppälä, E Iisalo,

Pituitary Gland Disorders and Treatments

Abstract: The effect of oral administration of methyldopa for two to three weeks on growth hormone and Cortisol secretion was studied in untreated hypertensive patients in an insulin stimulation test. In addition, the effect of an acute intravenous infusion of methyldopa on these hormones was studied in normotensive patients. In an insulin‐hypoglycaemia test the levels of serum growth hormone did not differ significantly after treatment with methyldopa (750 mg daily) from the levels obtained before treatment. The levels of plasma Cortisol tended to be slightly lower after the treatment than before treatment up to 90 minutes, although the difference was statistically significant only at 30 minutes. The decrease in blood pressure after treatment was significant. An acute infusion of methyldopa (250 mg intravenously) induced no significant changes in blood pressure in normotensive patients. The concentration of plasma Cortisol decreased slightly but significantly after the infusion. However, there were no significant changes in the secretion of growth hormone after the infusion. It is concluded that treatment of hypertension with methyldopa does not cause any clinically important alterations in the anterior pituitary function.