Clinical characteristics of patients with unexplainable hypothalamic disorder diagnosed by the corticotropin-releasing hormone challenge test: a retrospective study

BACKGROUND: The corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) challenge test can distinguish the disorders of the hypothalamus from those of the pituitary. However, the pathophysiology of hypothalamic disorder (HD) has not been fully understood. This study aimed to elucidate the clinical characteristics of patients with unexplainable HD, diagnosed by the CRH challenge test. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent the CRH challenge test. Patients were categorized into four groups as follows: patients with peak serum cortisol ≥18 μg/dL were assigned to the normal response (NR) group (n = 18), among patients with peak serum cortisol < 18 μg/dL and peak adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) increase ≥two-fold, patients without obvious background pathology were assigned to the unexplainable-HD group (n = 18), whereas patients with obvious background pathology were assigned to the explainable-HD group (n = 38), and patients with peak serum cortisol < 18 μg/dL and peak ACTH increase <two-fold were assigned to the pituitary disorder (PD) group (n = 15). Inter-group comparisons were performed based on clinical characteristics. RESULTS: In the CRH challenge test, the peak plasma ACTH levels were significantly lower in the unexplainable-HD group than in the NR group, despite more than two-fold increase compared to basal levels. The increase in serum cortisol was significantly higher in the unexplainable-HD group than in the explainable-HD and PD groups. Although patients in the unexplainable-HD group showed a clear ACTH response in the insulin tolerance test, some patients had peak serum cortisol levels of < 18 μg/dL. Furthermore, attenuated diurnal variations and low normal levels of urinary free cortisol were observed. Most patients in the unexplainable-HD group were young women with chronic fatigue. However, supplementation with oral hydrocortisone at physiological doses reduced fatigue only in some patients. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with unexplainable HD diagnosed by the CRH challenge test had hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction and some patients had mild central adrenal insufficiency. Hydrocortisone supplementation reduced fatigue only in some patients, suggesting that HPA axis dysfunction may be a physiological adaptation. Further investigation of these patients may help elucidate the pathophysiology of myalgic encephalitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.