Cortisol News and Research

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Cortisol is a hormone made by the adrenal cortex (the outer layer of the adrenal gland). It helps the body use glucose (a sugar), protein, and fats. Cortisol made in the laboratory is called hydrocortisone. It is used to treat many conditions, including inflammation, allergies, and some cancers. Cortisol is a type of glucocorticoid hormone.

Researchers develop artificial adrenal system in animal model

If the function of the adrenal gland is disturbed it does not produce enough stress-adjusting messengers. The results are serious and cause life-threatening diseases. Under the direction of Prof. Dr. Stefan R. Bornstein of the university hospital Carl Gustav Carus researchers developed an artificial adrenal system together with the medicine Nobel Prize Laureate Prof. Dr. Andrew Schally in an animal model.

19 Feb 2015

Harmless plant extract can help treat Cushing Disease

Cushing Disease, not to be confused with Cushing's Syndrome, is caused by a tumour in the pituitary gland in the brain. The tumour secrets increased amounts of the stress hormone adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) followed by cortisol release from the adrenal glands leading to rapid weight gain, elevated blood pressure and muscular weakness.

16 Feb 2015

Study shows differences in play behavior, brain activation patterns and stress levels in autistic children

Brain scans confirm significant differences in play behavior, brain activation patterns and stress levels in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as compared with typically developing children.

27 Jan 2015

FDA grants orphan drug status to NBI-77860 for treatment of congenital adrenal hyperplasia

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. announced today that NBI-77860, a proprietary corticotropin releasing factor 1 (CRF) receptor antagonist, has been granted orphan drug status by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) a disease that affects approximately 20,000-30,000 people in the United States.

16 Jan 2015

Scientists find that blocking hormone reduces stress-induced infertility in female rats

University of California, Berkeley, scientists have discovered that chronic stress activates a hormone that reduces fertility long after the stress has ended, and that blocking this hormone returns female reproductive behavior to normal.

13 Jan 2015

Healthcare providers can help parents understand sleep patterns of newborn infant

Most parents are not surprised by the irregularity of a newborn infant's sleep patterns, but by six months or so many parents wonder if something is wrong with their baby or their sleeping arrangements if the baby is not sleeping through the night. Healthcare providers, specifically nurse practitioners, can help parents understand what "normal" sleep patterns are for their child, according to researchers.

19 Dec 2014

Even men undergo hormonal changes on way to fatherhood, study finds

Impending fatherhood can lower two hormones--testosterone and estradiol--for men, even before their babies are born, a new University of Michigan study found.

18 Dec 2014

Gout attacks are most common at night

Research, published today, has shown that an acute gout attack is more than twice as likely to occur during the night or early morning hours as during the day. The increased prevalence of gout attacks at night time was observed even after 24 hours with no alcohol and low purine intake.

11 Dec 2014

Study highlights causes of postpartum disorders in new mothers

In the days shortly after giving birth, most mothers experience a period of increased calmness and decreased stress responses, but around 20% of mothers experience anxiety. Some women may become depressed, and around one in a thousand can develop psychosis. The latest evidence indicates that these distressing responses to motherhood are still poorly understood, but that animal research could provide valuable clues to their causes.

8 Dec 2014

Advanced prebiotic Bimuno has ability to reduce anxiety

Clasado Biosciences Limited, the producers and suppliers of the second generation prebiotic Bimuno (B-GOS), a unique trans-galactooligosaccharide, and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, today announce the results of clinical research demonstrating for the first time that an advanced prebiotic (Bimuno) has the ability to reduce anxiety.

4 Dec 2014

SAFit-ligands provide foundation for novel treatment of stress-related psychiatric disorders

The FK506-binding protein 51 (FKBP51) is an established risk factor for stress-related psychiatric disorders such as major depression. Drug discovery for FKBP51 has been hampered by the inability to pharmacologically differentiate against the very similar functional counterplayer FKBP52.

3 Dec 2014

Brain scientist wins 2015 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Psychology

A brain scientist who helped explain how our emotions affect what we learn and remember has won the 2015 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Psychology.

2 Dec 2014

Researchers discover molecular switch that triggers stress processes in the brain

At the Center for Brain Research at the MedUni Vienna an important factor for stress has been identified in collaboration with the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm (Sweden). This is the protein secretagogin that plays an important role in the release of the stress hormone CRH and which only then enables stress processes in the brain to be transmitted to the pituitary gland and then onwards to the organs.

28 Nov 2014

Higher surge of testosterone in competition not tied to winning, shows study

A higher surge of testosterone in competition, the so-called "winner effect," is not actually related to winning, suggests a new study of intercollegiate cross country runners.

27 Nov 2014

UH professor receives NIH grant for breast cancer research

After earning her medical degree in China, Qian Lu, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Houston, felt she could help patients more by treating the mind as well as the body. She then decided to pursue a doctorate in psychology in the U.S.

21 Nov 2014

Researchers obtain detailed picture of how Gas5 RNA interacts with steroid hormone receptors

It arises from what scientists previously described as "junk DNA" or "the dark matter of the genome," but this gene is definitely not junk.

7 Nov 2014

Rare neuroendocrine tumours may be misdiagnosed as Cushing’s disease

Ectopic tumours secreting corticotropin-releasing hormone and adrenocorticotropic hormone are very rare in children and can result in a misdiagnosis of Cushing’s disease, say researchers.

30 Oct 2014

Fatty fish intake appears to increase antidepressant response rates

Up to half of patients who suffer from depression (Major Depressive Disorder, or MDD) do not respond to treatment with SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors). Now a group of Dutch researchers have carried out a study which shows that increasing fatty fish intake appears to increase the response rate in patients who do not respond to antidepressants.

21 Oct 2014

Newborns of mothers who smoke during pregnancy have altered stress hormones, DNA

Researchers from The Miriam Hospital have studied the effects of smoking during pregnancy and its impact on the stress response in newborn babies. Their research indicates that newborns of mothers who smoke cigarettes during pregnancy show lower levels of stress hormones, lowered stress response, and alterations in DNA for a gene that regulates passage of stress hormones from mother to fetus.

20 Oct 2014

Parental understanding regarding daily experiences may affect adolescent health, well-being

Adolescents whose parents better understand their daily experiences have better psychological adjustment, suggests a study in the October issue of Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

16 Oct 2014