ACTH Stimulation Test
Alternate Names : Cortrosyn Stimulation Test, Tests of Adrenal Reserve
What do the test results mean?
In a healthy person, an injection of ACTH will stimulate the adrenal
glands. An increase in cortisol results.
If cortisol levels do not rise after the injection of ACTH, the
following conditions may be present:
acute adrenal crisis,
which is a condition in which the adrenal glands suddenly stop working the way they should
Addison disease,
which is caused by too low a level of ACTH in a damaged
adrenal gland
Cushing syndrome,
which is caused by having too high a level of ACTH
hypopituitarism,
which is a decrease in activity of the pituitary gland
pituitary tumor,
which is an abnormal growth in the pituitary gland
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