Endocrine Abstracts

Joint stiffness in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is worse in the morning and has been associated with increased secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 and in decreased secretion of cortisol, suggesting that clinical symptoms may be related to hormonal and immune circadian variations. We measured 24 h plasma profiles of IL-6 and cortisol in RA patients to determine any changes in IL-6 and cortisol following a two week course of prednisone administered orally in a specially...

Objective: The aim was to investigate awakening salivary cortisol response (ACR) and its subsequent rise in normal prepubertal children and prepubertal survivors of leukaemia.Methods: 90 patients fulfilling the criteria of >1 year post treatment for leukaemia, >6 months off steroids, prepubertal, 5–12 years and in remission were recruited. Group1 Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT) had Total Body Irradiation (n=26), Group2 Chemotherapy ...

Enhanced corticosterone release by female compared to male rats under basal and stress conditions has been frequently evidenced (1). The demonstration that gonadectomy enhances stress-induced corticosterone secretion in male rats (2) but reduces such levels in female rats (3) suggests a causal association between gonadal steroids and corticosterone release. The present study examined the corticosterone profile of intact and gonadectomised female and male rats under basal and s...