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.

Shift workers at increased risk for sleep disorders and metabolic syndrome

Shift workers are at a significantly increased risk for sleep disorders and metabolic syndrome, which increases a person's risk for heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

3 Feb 2020

Scientists may soon be able to prevent disease-spreading mosquitoes from maturing

New research from UC Riverside shows scientists may soon be able to prevent disease-spreading mosquitoes from maturing. Using the same gene-altering techniques, they may also be able help boost reproduction in beneficial bumblebees.

28 Jan 2020

Study finds stress does whiten hair

In most cases, hair starts to gray in the thirties, and becomes pronounced in the fifties, at which time the head is typically crowned with a thatch of white, gray and perhaps some hair of the original color. A new study published January 2020 in the journal Nature, shows that this process is speeded up significantly by acute stress persisting over a period, or by severe trauma.

22 Jan 2020

Researcher wins $2.5 million grant to study why therapeutic horseback riding benefits autistic children

After showing that a 10-week therapeutic horseback riding intervention reduced irritability and hyperactivity while improving the social communication skills of youth diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus researcher and Children's Hospital Colorado psychologist, Dr. Robin Gabriels, has received a $2.5 million grant to investigate why the therapy works.

22 Jan 2020

Air pollution plus early life stress may lead to cognitive difficulties in children

Children with elevated exposure to early life stress in the home and elevated prenatal exposure to air pollution exhibited heightened symptoms of attention and thought problems, according to researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia Psychiatry.

16 Jan 2020

Researchers examine psychological and physiological effects of AR medical simulation training

The UCI School of Medicine, in partnership with Chenega Healthcare Services, LLC and MedCognition, was awarded a $1.2 million contract through the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium to examine the psychological effects of augmented reality medical simulation training.

8 Jan 2020

New review explores relationship between yoga practice and brain health

Scientists have known for decades that aerobic exercise strengthens the brain and contributes to the growth of new neurons, but few studies have examined how yoga affects the brain.

12 Dec 2019

Diet high in refined carbohydrates may trigger insomnia

An estimated 30% of adults experience insomnia, and a new study by researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons suggests that diet may be partly to blame.

11 Dec 2019

Intermittent fasting may provide significant health benefits, study shows

Intermittent fasting may provide significant health benefits, including improved cardiometabolic health, improved blood chemistry and reduced risk for diabetes, new research conducted in part at Texas State University indicates.

10 Dec 2019

UC study highlights benefits of art intervention for people with dementia

University of Canberra researchers have shown that art gallery programs can improve the wellbeing of people living with dementia - and they've backed it up by testing study participants' saliva.

4 Dec 2019

Eating disorder can affect pregnancy outcome and offspring’s health

A pregnant woman with an eating disorder needs to be screened for complications more carefully because she is high-risk.

21 Nov 2019

Eating disorders increase risk of premature birth

Pregnant women with eating disorders should undergo extended pregnancy screenings considering their increased risk of complications. That is the conclusion from a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

20 Nov 2019

Art gallery programs can improve wellbeing of people with dementia, study shows

University of Canberra researchers have shown that art gallery programs can improve the wellbeing of people living with dementia – and they’ve backed it up by testing study participants’ saliva.

13 Nov 2019

Stress affects circadian rhythm, increases metabolic disease risk

Stress is a normal part of life, but too much of everything isn’t healthy. Every day, people from all walks of life experience stress of various degrees. A new study found that when stress has disrupted the circadian rhythm, the body’s internal clock, it can increase the risk of developing metabolic diseases.

12 Nov 2019

Medical steroid use could push up diabetes risk

Glucocorticoids (GCs), or steroids, as they are popularly called, are often prescribed for their anti-inflammatory effects in a host of conditions including acute asthmatic attacks, allergies, and arthritis. However, are they doing good or harm?

12 Nov 2019

Chronic psychosocial adversity impairs dopamine production

People exposed to a lifetime of psychosocial adversity may have an impaired ability to produce the dopamine levels needed for coping with acutely stressful situations.

12 Nov 2019

Study shows how glucocorticoid hormones control sugar and fat levels over the course of 24 hours

For the first time, a study led by researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum München and the German Center for Diabetes Research shows how glucocorticoid hormones, such as cortisol, control sugar and fat levels differently during day and night, feeding and fasting, rest and activity, over the course of 24 hours.

10 Nov 2019

UC researcher finds new treatment option for liver transplant patients

A drug commonly used to treat both asthma and inflammatory bowel disease, budesonide, may also be useful as an anti-organ rejection medication for liver transplant patients leading to fewer serious side effects than the most commonly used therapy, according to a University of Cincinnati researcher.

9 Nov 2019

Study supports physical activity as a preventive measure for depression

A new study has found that physical activity may have a preventative effect against depression. Physical activity has long been linked with better mental health due to its ability to reduce the stress hormone cortisol and increase the feel-good hormone serotonin. However, there has been limited empirical evidence to support physical activity as a preventive measure for depression, making these findings very important.

5 Nov 2019

Clinical trial tests impact of actual and virtual nature on cancer patients

Researchers at Houston Methodist Cancer Center are exploring whether exposure to nature, through either a live garden or virtual reality, can alleviate pain and distress in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, possibly reducing the need for prescription narcotics.

4 Nov 2019