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.

Coming out of the closet helps reduce depressive symptoms and allostatic load levels in LGBs

Lesbians, gays and bisexuals (LGBs) who are out to others have lower stress hormone levels and fewer symptoms of anxiety, depression, and burnout, according to researchers at the Centre for Studies on Human Stress (CSHS) at Louis H. Lafontaine Hospital, affiliated with the University of Montreal. Cortisol is a stress hormone in our body. When chronically strained, cortisol contributes to the 'wear and tear' exerted on multiple biological systems. Taken together, this strain is called "allostatic load".

29 Jan 2013

Albumin may prove a predictor for pneumonia outcomes

Researchers say that assessing serum albumin levels within 24 hours of admission could be a good prognostic marker of community-acquired pneumonia.

21 Jan 2013

Stress in adolescence can cause severe mental illness in young adulthood

Working with mice, Johns Hopkins researchers have established a link between elevated levels of a stress hormone in adolescence — a critical time for brain development — and genetic changes that, in young adulthood, cause severe mental illness in those predisposed to it.

18 Jan 2013

FDA approves Santarus’ UCERIS for induction of remission in patients with ulcerative colitis

Santarus, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved UCERIS (budesonide) extended release tablets for the induction of remission in patients with active, mild to moderate ulcerative colitis.

16 Jan 2013

Spacemen upset sodium balance theories

Levels of salt in the body and sodium in the urine fluctuate over fixed cycles that are independent of salt intake, shows a space simulation study.

15 Jan 2013

Body's sodium levels fluctuate rhythmically with 7-day and monthly cycles

Clinical pharmacologist Jens Titze, M.D., knew he had a one-of-a-kind scientific opportunity: the Russians were going to simulate a flight to Mars, and he was invited to study the participating cosmonauts.

9 Jan 2013

Top 4 reasons why many dieters do not lose weight

The battle of the bulge is on - any movement on the scale yet? "Losing weight is one of the top resolutions made every year, yet only 20 percent of people achieve successful weight-loss and maintenance," says Jessica Bartfield,MD, internal medicine who specializes in nutrition and weight management at the Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery & Bariatric Care.

4 Jan 2013

Study investigates biology of emotional sharing

Therapists have long known that people who've had a traumatic experience feel the need to talk about what they've been through. This process is called 'social sharing' and can take place for days, weeks, months or years after the event.

19 Dec 2012

Bullying among children may be a threat to their future mental health

A recent study by a researcher at the Centre for Studies on Human Stress (CSHS) at the H-pital Louis-H. Lafontaine and professor at the Universit- de Montr-al suggests that bullying by peers changes the structure surrounding a gene involved in regulating mood, making victims more vulnerable to mental health problems as they age.

18 Dec 2012

New research reveals music's health benefits

Music has been incorporated into medical practice since before the ancient Greeks. However, though practitioners have been convinced of music's health benefits for thousands of years, there had been little peer-reviewed research to back them up. But recent studies are providing an empirical backbone for the anecdotal evidence.

17 Dec 2012

Novartis receives FDA approval for Signifor injection to treat Cushing's disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Signifor (pasireotide diaspartate) injection for the treatment of Cushing's disease patients who cannot be helped through surgery.

15 Dec 2012

FDA approves Novartis Signifor injection for treatment of Cushing's disease

Novartis announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Signifor (pasireotide) injection for the treatment of adult patients with Cushing's disease for whom pituitary surgery is not an option or has not been curative.

14 Dec 2012

New study could help develop anti-inflammatory drugs with fewer side effects

10 Dec 2012

Scientists identify key molecular pathway that leads to depression

Scientists have identified the key molecular pathway leading to depression, revealing potential new targets for drug discovery, according to research led by King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry. The study, published today in Neuropsychopharmacology, reveals for the first time that the 'Hedgehog pathway' regulates how stress hormones, usually elevated during depression, reduce the number of brain cells.

6 Dec 2012

Researchers examine impact of exercise on mare reproductive health and embryo transfer

In the latest issue of the Journal of Animal Science, researchers at Clemson University and the University of Florida examine the impact of exercise on mare reproductive health and embryo transfer.

6 Dec 2012

Intervention helps postmenopausal women relax

Applied relaxation techniques could help postmenopausal women significantly reduce the number of hot flashes they experience each day, research suggests.

4 Dec 2012

Children of low socioeconomic status work harder to filter out irrelevant environmental information

Children of low socioeconomic status work harder to filter out irrelevant environmental information than those from a high-income background because of learned differences in what they pay attention to, according to new research published in the open access journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

29 Nov 2012

Cancer-related fatigue and exercise: an interview with Dr Fiona Cramp

It is likely that there is more than one reason why people with cancer experience fatigue. The causes are likely to include side effects of the treatment that people are receiving for cancer as well as the direct effects of the cancer.

28 Nov 2012

Lack of job may raise heart attack risk

Unemployment, multiple job losses, and short periods without work are all significant risk factors for acute myocardial infarction, say researchers.

26 Nov 2012

Applied relaxation can help women with menopausal troubles

Women who have undergone group therapy and learned to relax have reduced their menopausal troubles by half, according to results of a study at Link-ping University and Link-ping University Hospital in Sweden. Seven out of every ten women undergoing menopause have at some point experienced problems with hot flushes and sweating.

26 Nov 2012