Patients and Measurements: Baseline serum total cortisol, cosyntropin-stimulated serum total cortisol, aldosterone, and free cortisol concentrations were measured in 66 critically ill patients with an APACHE score of 15 or higher, 33 healthy volunteers, and 7 patients with adrenal insufficiency secondary to hypopituitarism. Patients were further divided into two groups based on their serum albu...

Preclinical studies suggest that chronic drug abuse profoundly alters stress-responsive systems. The best studied of the stress-responsive systems in humans is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Apart from cortisol, arginine vasopressin peptide (AVP), and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) are known to directly impact upon the HPA axis in addictive behavior. We investigated alteration...

A method is described for a temperature-controlled ultrafiltration procedure to measure free cortisol in serum. A special thermometer with a sensor was developed, measuring the temperature directly in the ultrafiltration device. The sensor is screwed on the axis of the centrifuge rotor, and the centrifuge is placed in a temperature-controlled box so that the temperature of the sample is kept at...

Previous studies have shown an association between low concentration of serum cholesterol, as well as high concentration of serum cortisol, in suicide behavior. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether men after a violent suicide attempts have different serum cholesterol and cortisol concentrations than those who attempted suicide by non-violent methods. Venous blood samples were collected...

Serum cortisol levels rise in response to stress of critical illness but the optimum range of serum cortisol in such settings is not clearly defined. An association of high lactate levels with mortality has been found in adult patients with septic shock. However there is controversial literature regarding the same in children. The aim of this study was to determine the serum cortisol level and ...

OBJECTIVES Adrenal insufficiency is an uncommon cause of hyponatraemia that should not be overlooked due to the severe consequences of an Addisonian crisis. Using the laboratory database of a large teaching hospital, we have explored the relationship between serum sodium and serum cortisol, and have estimated the frequency of hypoadrenalism in severely hyponatraemic patients. DESIGN AND METHO...

Ž . Growth rates of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss were assessed with respect to serum concentrations of cortisol, glucose, and chloride following exposure to a standardized handling Ž . stressor. Individually tagged rainbow trout Ns400, 90–250 g were reared for 10 months and the handling stressor was administered three times at approximately 3-month intervals. Fish were bled at either 1-, 3...

In severely ill patients low concentrations of the corticosteroid binding globulin are typically found; the aim of this study was to quantify directly free bioactive cortisol concentrations in the sera of postoperative cardiosurgical patients. Serum samples of 12 consecutive patients undergoing aortocoronary bypass surgery taken preoperatively and on the postoperative days 1 to 4 were analyzed....

PURPOSE To compare the levels of serum cortisol and testosterone in acute and chronic central serous chorio-retinopathy (CSC). METHODS Serum cortisol and testosterone levels in 30 patients with either acute or chronic CSC were evaluated using chemiluminescent immunoassay. RESULTS The mean age was 42.43 ± 6.37 years (range, 32 to 56 years). The mean 8:00 to 9.00 a.m. serum cortisol level was...

BACKGROUND The hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis modulates the inflammatory response during sepsis. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), which counteracts the anti-inflammatory activity of glucocorticoid (GC), is one of the mediators of the development of inflammation. An inflammatory imbalance involving GC and MIF might be the cause or result of adrenal insufficiency. Our objec...