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.

Massage may help tots sleep better

New research by a team at the University of Warwick says that massage may help infants aged under six months sleep better, cry less and be less stressed.

8 Nov 2006

Sad and lonely at bedtime - stress hormone up at dawn

According to a new study older people who go to bed lonely, sad or overwhelmed wake up the following morning with elevated levels of cortisol, the stress hormone linked to depression, obesity and other health problems.

31 Oct 2006

Feeling stressed? have a cuppa...then have another!

According to the latest research regular cups of tea can help speed recovery from stress.

5 Oct 2006

The circadian rhythm of glucocorticoids is regulated by a gating mechanism residing in the adrenal cortical clock

In mammals, including humans, a master clock in the brain and subordinate clocks found in organs throughout the body coordinate daily, or circadian, rhythms of behavior and physiology.

8 Aug 2006

Disease-specific gene expression profiles in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

They sleep together, eat together, and most people find it impossible to tell them apart. Identical twins who grow up together share just about everything, including their genes.

26 Jul 2006

Research offers new hope in helping elderly fight infections

Thousands of infections could be prevented each year in older people and hospital stays reduced following findings from two studies which show that imbalances in the immune systems of people aged over 65 make them more prone to illnesses like flu or bacterial infections as a result of cuts and falls.

21 Jul 2006

Infertility caused by stress helped by behaviour therapy

According to an American scientist infertility caused by stress can be helped by the use of behavioural therapy.

21 Jun 2006

New research on brain, hormones and behavior

New clinical and basic science research findings focusing on the interaction between hormones and the brain and its influence on behavior will be presented for the first time at the 6th International Congress of Neuroendocrinology.

6 Jun 2006

Working too much as bad as smoking for pregnant mums

New research says that pregnant women who work more than 32 hours a week in stressful jobs risk the health of their unborn child.

30 May 2006

Simple lifestyle changes may improve cognitive function and brain efficiency

A UCLA research study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry found that people may be able to improve their cognitive function and brain efficiency by making simple lifestyle changes such as incorporating memory exercises, healthy eating, physical fitness and stress reduction into their daily lives.

23 May 2006

Lower income, education lead to greater stress levels

People with low incomes are more likely to be under stress than their wealthier peers

23 May 2006

Social stress prompts hamsters to overeat

Put a mouse or a rat under stress and what does it do? It stops eating. Humans should be so lucky. When people suffer nontraumatic stress they often head for the refrigerator, producing unhealthy extra pounds.

9 May 2006

It's a vicious circle - exposure to stress causes anxiety and depression

Experts in the United States say the results of a study with mice suggests that stress in itself may cause anxiety and depression.

18 Apr 2006

Anxiogenic-like effect of chronic corticosterone in the light-dark emergence task in mice

Neuroscientists at Harvard Medical School and its affiliate McLean Hospital have shown that long-term exposure to stress hormone in mice directly results in the anxiety that often comes with depression.

18 Apr 2006

Laughter is the best medicine

There's no doubt that laughter feels good, but is there real neurophysiology behind it and what can you do about it?

3 Apr 2006

Cortisol helps people overcome phobias

Researchers from the University of Zurich are suggesting that a dose of the stress hormone cortisol may help people overcome phobias.

29 Mar 2006

Psychological wellbeing has biological consequences

An experimental investigation by Carol Ryff and associates (University of Wisconsin), published in the March issue of the journal of Psychotherapy & Psychosomatics, underscores the biological consequences of psychological well-being.

13 Mar 2006

Nematode hormone discovery may aid fight against parasitic disease

New research at UT Southwestern Medical Center shows that on a biochemical level, hormone-like molecules in tiny worms called nematodes work similarly to the way in which certain hormones work in humans - findings that one day may help eradicate worm infections that afflict a third of the world's population.

9 Mar 2006

Depressed older adults more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment

Older adults with depressive symptoms are more likely than those without depression to develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI) within six years, according to a study conducted by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.

9 Mar 2006

Genes play a key role in stress response

Both nature and nurture - genetic makeup and the environment experienced through life - combine to influence health and well-being, Duke University Medical Center researchers and their colleagues have determined in four new studies.

7 Mar 2006