Clinical studies of thyrotropin-releasing hormone tartrate (TRH-T) as a direct stimulant to the central nervous system.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone tartrate (TRH-T) was administered in 17 cases of organic brain lesions and 2 cases of disturbed mental activity (psychical depression), and its effect, mainly on the level of consciousness and electroencephalogram, was examined. Ten consecutive administrations of 0.5--1.0 mg/day TRH-T, as TRH, resulted in improvement of disturbance of consciousness in 8 of 16 cases. This effect was not necessarily correlated with the degree of disturbance or the site of the lesion. Improvement was seen even in those cases where disturbance of consciousness had been fixed over a long period. The effect on the electroencephalogram was small and did not parallel the degree of improvement of the level of consciousness. Abnormal TSH and thyroid hormone values were not seen despite the continued administration of TRH-T. These results would appear to indicate that the continuous administration of TRH-T has a mild activating effect directly on the central nervous system, and not through the endocrine mechanism, and exerts no damage on the internal environment in vivo.