The authors performed the thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)
stimulation test and measured CSF concentrations of TRH in 13 abstinent
alcohol-dependent subjects. They found an inverse correlation between the
thyrotropin (TSH) response to TRH and endogenous CSF TRH concentrations.
This finding supports the hypothesis that as the concentration of CSF TRH
increases, anterior pituitary TRH receptor density decreases, resulting in
a blunted TSH response to TRH stimulation.Abstract Teaser