OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether lactate-induced panic attacks in patients with panic disorder would activate atrial natriuretic hormone, which could explain the missing ACTH and cortisol response found in this kind of experimentally induced panic. METHOD: Sodium lactate and placebo infusions were administered to 10 patients with panic disorder and to 10 healthy comparison subjects, and the atrial natriuretic hormone responses of the two groups were compared. RESULTS: During lactate infusion both the seven patients who had panic attacks and the eight comparison subjects who did not responded with increased plasma concentrations of atrial natriuretic hormone, but the patients had more pronounced surges of the hormone. CONCLUSIONS: Because atrial natriuretic hormone suppresses both pituitary ACTH and adrenal cortisol release, the authors suggest that the immediate rise of atrial natriuretic hormone explains the reported lack of pituitary-adrenocortical activation during lactate-induced panic.
