ArticleEuropean journal of endocrinology2021
Oxytocin levels in response to pituitary provocation tests in healthy volunteers.
Article in European journal of endocrinology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Melatonin as a Possible Stimulus to Unmask an Oxytocin-Deficient State in Hypopituitarism and Hypothalamic Damage.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Trial
- Oxytocin levels in response to CRH administration in hypopituitarism and hypothalamic damage: a randomized, crossover, placebo-controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Pilot clinical trial of macimorelin to assess safety and efficacy in patients with cancer cachexia.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2023Trial
- Neurophysin-I dynamics upon different pituitary provocation tests in healthy participants.Endocrine connections · 2026Article
- Arginine Vasopressin Deficiency and Oxytocin Deficiency in the Endocrine Clinic.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Review
- Oxytocin: a neglected hormone in pituitary disease - From function to the diagnosis of a deficiency, resulting clinical relevance, and potential treatment options in endocrinology.Archives of endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Review
- Oxytocin Deficiency in Childhood and Adolescence: Clinical Features, Diagnostic Challenges and Therapeutic Perspectives.Current issues in molecular biology · 2025Review
- The Oxytocin System and Implications for Oxytocin Deficiency in Hypothalamic-Pituitary Disease.Endocrine reviews · 2025Review
- Sex-dependent increases in oxytocin levels in response to intravenous kisspeptin in humans.European journal of endocrinology · 2025Article
- An Update on Advances in Hypopituitarism: Etiology, Diagnosis, and Current Management.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Understanding oxytocin in human physiology and pathophysiology: A path towards therapeutics.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2024Review
- Arginine vasopressin deficiency: diagnosis, management and the relevance of oxytocin deficiency.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2024Review
- Oxytocin deficiency - a 'new' human disorder?Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2023Article
- Advances in human oxytocin measurement: challenges and proposed solutions.Molecular psychiatry · 2023Review
- Arginine Vasopressin (AVP) Deficiency: Diagnosis and Treatment - An Update.Indian journal of endocrinology and metabolismReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveOxytocin, secreted into circulation through the posterior pituitary, regulates lactation, weight, and socio-behavioral functioning. Oxytocin deficiency has been suggested in patients with hypopituitarism; however, diagnostic testing for oxytocin deficiency has not been developed. The aim of this study was to investigate known pituitary provocation tests to stimulate plasma oxytocin.
designSixty-five healthy volunteers underwent either the hypertonic saline or arginine infusion test, known to stimulate copeptin, or the oral macimorelin test, known to stimulate growth hormone. Plasma oxytocin was measured before and once plasma sodium level ≥ 150 mmol/L for the hypertonic saline, after 60 min for the arginine infusion, and after 45 min for the oral macimorelin test (expected peak of copeptin and growth hormone levels, respectively). Primary outcome was a change from basal to stimulated oxytocin levels using paired t-tests.
resultsAs expected, copeptin increased in response to hypertonic saline and arginine infusion (P < 0.001), and growth hormone increased to oral macimorelin (P < 0.001). Oxytocin increased in response to hypertonic saline infusion from 0.4 (0.2) to 0.6 pg/mL (0.3) (P = 0.003) but with a high variance. There was no change to arginine infusion (P = 0.4), and a trend to lower stimulated levels to oral macimorelin (P = 0.05).
conclusionNeither the arginine infusion nor the oral macimorelin test stimulates plasma oxytocin levels, whereas there was an increase with high variance upon hypertonic saline infusion. As a predictable rise in most participants is required for a reliable pituitary provocation test, none of the investigated pituitary provocation tests can be recommended diagnostically to identify patients with an oxytocin deficiency.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.