While human, sheep, cattle and swine corticotropin have different structures, the first 24 amino acids are the same and, therefore, biologic activity is thought to be identical.
One USP unit of corticotropin is equivalent to 1 mg of the international standard.
Corticotropin, Repository for Injection; 40 Units/ml and 80 Units/ml in 5 ml an d10 ml vials; ACTH Gel (Anthony); Adrenomone® (Summit Hill) (Rx) Approved for use in dogs, cats, and beef or dairy cattle.
In secondary adrenal insufficiency, release of corticotropin from the pituitary is impaired.
Corticotropin may be produced ectopically by malignancy (ie, lung carcinoma, renal-cell carcinoma), as is the case in about 80% of patients, or by other tumors, such as carcinoid tumors in the lung, pancreas, or thymus (1,6).
Corticotropin levels should be measured by immunoradiometric assay, which has greater specificity and sensitivity, although this assay cannot detect an unusual type of corticotropin (ie, "big" corticotropin), which may also have biologic activity (8).
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