Benzodiazepines have been reported to inhibit
thyrotropin (TSH) and
prolactin (PRL) secretion in response to stressful and pharmacologic stimuli in experimental animals. The current study investigates basal and
thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)-stimulated TSH and PRL release in anxious patients treated with
diazepam. Six hospitalized patients having generalized anxiety or
adjustment disorder with anxious mood (DSM III-R criteria) were treated during 1 week with
diazepam (mean daily dose 33.3 mg). TRH testing was performed comparatively before and after 7 days of
diazepam administration (with 250 micrograms
protirelin and blood sampling at 15-min intervals over 60 min). Steady-state plasma levels of
diazepam and its metabolite
nordazepam (
desmethyldiazepam) were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. After 7 days of
diazepam treatment, basal plasma levels of TSH and PRL were not affected compared with pretreatment values. Similarly, the time-course of TRH-induced TSH release was not modified by the treatment. By contrast, there was a trend to decrease in the TRH-induced PRL release, and the decrease in the PRL response to TRH on day 7 was significantly correlated with plasma
nordazepam concentrations (rs = 0.943, p = 0.02). These preliminary results suggest that
benzodiazepines, at therapeutic doses for the treatment of anxiety, may alter TRH-induced PRL release in humans.