Adrenocorticotropic hormone (medication)

Adrenocorticotropic hormone, or ACTH, is used as a medication and as a diagnostic agent. The form purified from pig pituitary glands is called corticotropin, while the synthetic form, made of the first 24 of the 39 amino acids of the natural hormone, is called tetracosactide, cosyntropin or Synacthen. Both stimulate the adrenal glands to release corticosteroids such as cortisol, which is the basis of the ACTH stimulation test used to assess adrenocortical insufficiency, particularly in Addison's disease. In the United States corticotropin is used therapeutically for epileptic spasms in infants and for acute exacerbations of multiple sclerosis, among other inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. Users face a higher risk of infection and of suppression of the pituitary-adrenal axis. Corticotropin sold as Acthar was first approved in 1950, and its steep price rises after 2001 led to a settlement with US regulators in 2017.