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.

Maternal stress during pregnancy could affect baby's sex and birth outcomes

It's becoming well established that maternal stress during pregnancy can affect fetal and child development as well as birth outcomes, and a new study from researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian now identifies the types of physical and psychological stress that may matter most.

14 Oct 2019

Lab-grown, testosterone-producing cells could help treat hypogonadism

Researchers have managed to grow human, testosterone-producing cells, which could lead to improved treatment options for low testosterone levels.

9 Oct 2019

Severe vomiting in early pregnancy linked to increased autism risk

A new study published in the American Journal of Perinatology shows a 53% increased risk of autism spectrum disorder in children born to women who had excessively severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.

3 Oct 2019

Potency and dosage of statins linked to diagnosis of osteoporosis

A team of researchers of MedUni Vienna working with the endocrinologists and gender physicians Michael Leutner and Alexandra Kautzky-Willer as well the division for complex statistical systems with Peter Klimek and Caspar Matzhold in cooperation with Complexity Science Hub Vienna were able to demonstrate for the first time a connection between the potency and dosage of statins with a diagnosis of osteoporosis, based on several million data sets.

30 Sep 2019

AGS patients more likely to suffer from sexual dysfunction, shows study

AdrenoGenital Syndrome (AGS) encompasses a group of inherited metabolic disorders caused by a disruption in steroid hormone production in the adrenal cortex.

25 Sep 2019

UMass Lowell expert aims to improve sleep of night-shift workers

A UMass Lowell expert on sleep is examining strategies to help night-shift workers get more restful shuteye, critical to preventing ill health effects.

11 Sep 2019

Resilience exerts a protective role against negative effects of stress during pregnancy

Resilience—understood as the set of personal resources that help individuals deal effectively with adversity, protecting them from the negative health effects of stress—is receiving increasing attention from researchers.

6 Sep 2019

Overweight adolescents actually eat less when exposed to stressful events

People often react to stress by binging on sweets or fattening comfort foods, cravings fueled by the appetite-stimulating stress hormone cortisol.

3 Sep 2019

Animal-assisted interventions help reduce patient stress in aeromedical staging facilities

They're physically and emotionally wounded – most likely suffering from post-traumatic stress. Members of the United States military who serve abroad often return to the U.S. to treat their injuries and must be transported by aeromedical evacuation between medical facilities.

23 Aug 2019

Genetic variant increases risk of addiction in the presence of childhood stress

What causes some people to become alcoholics or drug abusers when faced with stress, but not others? This question has plagued addiction researchers for decades.

19 Aug 2019

Winter babies at 'higher risk of mental health disorders'

Babies born in winter may be at an increased risk of developing mental health disorders, as expectant mothers have higher levels of salivary cortisol.

5 Aug 2019

Johns Hopkins researchers link 'stressors' in middle age to memory decline in older women

A new analysis of data on more than 900 Baltimore adults by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers has linked stressful life experiences among middle-aged women -- but not men -- to greater memory decline in later life.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 5 Aug 2019

Autonomic nervous system of babies functions well regardless of mode of delivery, study finds

Late in pregnancy, the human body carefully prepares fetuses for the rigors of life outside the protection of the womb. Levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, ramp up and spike during labor.

31 Jul 2019

Resveratrol shows promise for anxiety and depression

A new study has shown that the compound resveratrol found in red wine demonstrates stress relieving effects in anxiety and depression. This could be due to resveratrol’s ability to control an enzyme in the brain that is liked to stress say the researchers from the University at Buffalo in collaboration with Xuzhou Medical University in China.

29 Jul 2019

Stress may cause vocal disorders

Do you feel anxious about talking in front of the crowd and feel as if there’s a frog in your throat? New reseach says that stress may be the culprit for such vocal issues.

25 Jul 2019

A lock of hair could one day aid in the diagnosis of depression in teens

It's possible that a lock of hair could one day aid in the diagnosis of depression and in efforts to monitor the effects of treatment, said the author of a new study examining cortisol levels in the hair of teens.

24 Jul 2019

UTHealth researchers investigate how to reduce stress-driven alcohol use

Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) are investigating if a medication used to regulate blood sugar can alter motivation to use alcohol by targeting the brain's stress response system.

17 Jul 2019

Dogs and cats relieve academic stress and lift students' mood, according to a new study

A new study has revealed that petting dogs and cats can relieve feelings of stress and pressure in college students with a high academic workload

16 Jul 2019

Extremely strenuous exercise can overload the heart without increasing cardiac risk

Researchers have found no evidence of elevated cardiac risk in runners who completed a 24-hour ultramarathon (24UM), despite the transient elevation of blood biomarkers that measure cardiac health.

28 Jun 2019

Study: Stress experienced by premature infants can carry on throughout their adult life

The stress premature infants experience can carry on throughout their adult life, causing cognitive limitations, social struggles at work or in school, and a greater risk of health ailments, including cardiac conditions, one of the longest-running U.S. studies of premature infants has shown.

26 Jun 2019