Corticotrophin, cortisol, prolactin and growth hormone responses to insulin-induced hypoglycaemia in normal subjects given sodium valproate.

Plasma corticotrophin (ACTH), cortisol, prolactin and growth hormone (GH) responses to insulin-induced hypoglycaemia were measured in normal healthy subjects of both sexes before and after three weeks' treatment with sodium valproate (Epilim, 200 mg three times a day). The drug had no effect on fasting plasma glucose levels, or the extent of hypoglycaemia induced by insulin (0.15 U/kg). There was no significant difference between pre- and post-treatment values for basal or stress-induced concentrations of ACTH and cortisol (n = 12), prolactin (n = 7) or GH (n = 9). The results suggest that treatment of normal subjects with sodium valproate has no effect on the response of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis to hypoglycaemia, which is in contrast to its inhibitory effects on ACTH secretion in patients suffering from Nelson's syndrome. This implies that in the disease state, there may be a unique sensitivity to GABA-ergic manipulation.