Cortisol awake response imbalance as an indicator of acute central serous chorioretinopathy: Relationship with choriocapillaris and choroidal features.

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to measure in central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) the salivary cortisol awake response (CAR) delta percentage (Δ%) variation, a distinct and robust indicator of cortisol rhythm during wakefulness, commonly proposed as a marker of hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis activity, whose alteration is frequently associated with several adverse health outcomes.

Methods: In the present cross-sectional observational study, salivary CAR Δ% variation was assessed in 17 adult male subjects affected by acute naïve CSC and compared to 17 matched healthy controls. Choroid vasculature metrics were assessed in the study population by measuring the subfoveal choroidal thickness (FCT) and the choroidal vascularity index (CVI) by the imaging technique of enhanced-depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (EDI-SD-OCT).

Biopsychosocial Illness Model: From the Lung to the Eye.

Studies on the impact of different pathologies on the quality of life have made the translation of multidisciplinary scientific knowledge into a unified model of biopsychosocial disease possible in which several important biological variables are integrated with psychological-functional and sociological variables [...

Relationship of Choroidal Vasculature and Choriocapillaris Flow With Alterations of Salivary α-Amylase Patterns in Central Serous Chorioretinopathy.

Purpose: An abnormality in choroidal vasculature is a known factor in the pathogenesis of central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC), a chorioretinal disease affecting mostly middle-aged males. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in the pathophysiology of CSC.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study in which characteristic choroidal vasculature metrics were assessed by measuring the subfoveal choroidal thickness (FCT) and the choroidal vascularity index (CVI) using the imaging technique of enhanced-depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (EDI-SD-OCT).

Exploring the Biopsychosocial Pathways Shared by Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and Central Serous Chorioretinopathy (CSC): A Literature Overview.

This study addressed the following question: "Is it possible to highlight the link between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) through common biopsychosocial pathogenetic pathways?". The study was conducted through electronic searches of the PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. All relevant selected human research studies published from January 2003 to December 2020 were included.

Psychological Profile and Distinct Salivary Cortisol Awake Response (CAR) in Two Different Study Populations with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and Central Serous Chorioretinopathy (CSC).

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) are in terms of nosography different pathologies, however they share a stress-related physio-pathogenetic component, not yet explored in depth. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to ascertain whether OSA and CSC share a common profile, specifically in cortisol production focusing on the cortisol awake response (CAR), the area under curve (AUC) and the SLOPE compared with healthy matched controls. Furthermore, standardized self-administered questionnaires were used to identify mental health status related to depression, anxiety and subjective stress perception levels in the study populations.

Diurnal trajectories of salivary cortisol and α-amylase and psychological profiles in patients with central serous chorioretinopathy.

It has been hypothesized that the occurrence of central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) might be associated with stress. Therefore, our purpose was to investigate the diurnal trajectories of salivary cortisol and α-amylase (α-Amy) - markers of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) system activity, respectively - and psychological profiles in idiopathic acute CSC. This cross-sectional observational case-control study, which included self-reported psychometric questionnaires, was formally approved by the Ethics Committee.

Investigating the Hypothesis of Stress System Dysregulation as a Risk Factor for Central Serous Chorioretinopathy: A Literature Mini-Review.

: This mini-review addressed the question "what do we know about the association between the dysregulation of stress systems (HPA axis and SAM) and the onset and prognosis of CSC in adult populations?" : The literature mini-review was conducted through electronic searches using the PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. All published human and animal studies with both observational and experimental designs from 1966 to October 2018 were included. : Our search identified 229 reports, of which 32 articles were ultimately identified to be reviewed in this paper.

Distinct activation of the sympathetic adreno-medullar system and hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis following the caloric vestibular test in healthy subjects.

Introduction: The vestibular acute stress induces reversible alert-like reactions that involve the sympathetic adrenal-medullar system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responses. The present study aimed to evaluate salivary α-amylase and salivary cortisol production in relation with cardiovascular reactivity induced by acute stress in healthy subjects.

Material And Methods: Forty-eight young healthy male volunteers were examined under basal conditions and at various times after reaching the maximal nystagmic reaction following air caloric vestibular test.

No definitive evidence for a connection between autoimmune thyroid diseases and stress in women.

The purpose of this literature review was to examine the available clinical studies performed during the last 15 years to identify if there is a causal relationship between the onset and course of autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis/sympathetic-adrenomedullary system (SAM) (dys)function in women. Using the PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases, a comprehensive search was performed, and 14 articles were finally identified. The majority of selected studies suggested a causal connection between Graves' Disease (GD) and stress, as well as between Hashimoto Thyroiditis (HT), with its variant postpartum thyroiditis, and stress.

Imbalance in the diurnal salivary testosterone/cortisol ratio in men with severe obstructive sleep apnea: an observational study.

Introduction: The complex relationship between sleep disorders and hormones could lead to alterations in the production of cortisol and testosterone in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the diurnal trajectories of salivary free-testosterone, free-cortisol and their ratio (T/C).

Methods: Ten subjects newly diagnosed with OSA, based on nocturnal polysomnography evaluation and excessive daytime sleepiness, and seven matched controls were consecutively recruited.

Restoring the salivary cortisol awakening response through nasal continuous positive airway pressure therapy in obstructive sleep apnea.

Partial and largely conflicting data are currently available on the interplay between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) activity in adult obese men. This study was performed to evaluate the daily trajectories of salivary cortisol, specifically with respect to the salivary cortisol awakening response (CAR), a common method used to assess HPA axis activity. The main findings of this study were that adult male obese subjects who were newly diagnosed with severe OSA showed the following: (1) a flattening of the CAR; (2) levels of cortisol at awakening that were lower than those of the controls; and (3) maintenance of the physiological circadian activity of the HPA axis, with the highest hormone concentrations produced in the morning and the lowest in the evening.

Dysregulation of diurnal salivary cortisol production is associated with spontaneous preterm delivery: a pilot study.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the diurnal fluctuation of salivary cortisol and its overall diurnal secretion are associated with the length of gestation in patients who were admitted to the hospital with an assigned diagnosis of possible preterm labor (PL) at a gestational age of 28-33 weeks.

Methods: In 22 patients, maternal saliva samples were collected for a cortisol assay 4 times per day (8 AM, 12 AM, 4 PM and 8 PM) on day 4 and day 6 after antenatal corticosteroid prophylaxis to prevent neonatal respiratory distress syndrome.

Results: Eight patients who ultimately delivered before term (32.

Acute hypobaric-hypoxia challenge and salivary cortisol and DHEA-S in healthy male subjects.

Background: Hypobaric hypoxia is a stressful emergency situation that can cause a degradation of the sensory, motor, and higher cognitive functions necessary for safe flight.

Methods: We studied the salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) concentrations of 12 healthy male military aviators (AV) exposed to an altitude-induced hypoxia challenge in a hypobaric chamber. A matched control group (C) of eight flight physiology instructors wearing oxygen masks during the challenge was studied.

Awakening responses and diurnal fluctuations of salivary cortisol, DHEA-S and α-amylase in healthy male subjects.

Objectives: Because the cortisol awakening response (CAR) has received increasing attention as a useful index of adrenocortical activity, the primary objective of this study was to investigate the presence of an awakening response for various salivary biomarkers of adrenocortical activity, including dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate (DHEA-S), which acts as a cortisol antagonist, and α-amylase, which is a predictor of circulating catecholamine activity. Salivary biological indicators are considered to be valuable markers of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis diurnal activity.

Methods: In an attempt to overcome problems associated with non-adherence to the requested sampling protocol, only young, healthy males with a physiological CAR value (defined as a 50% increase in salivary cortisol within 30 min after waking) were included in the study (67 out of 102 who initially enrolled met this criterion).

Stress-induced salivary cortisol secretion during hypobaric hypoxia challenge and in vivo urinary thromboxane production in healthy male subjects.

Few studies have assessed the effects of stress on in vivo platelet activation. In the present study, hypobaric hypoxia induced by rapid decompression during high-altitude simulated flight in a hypobaric chamber was used to evaluate the effects of environmental stress on salivary cortisol and urinary thromboxane metabolite (TXM) excretion, a noninvasive marker of in vivo platelet function. Twenty-one male aviators (mean ± SD age = 36 ± 7 years) experiencing hypoxia by removing their oxygen mask for 4-5 min during a simulated flight to 25,000 ft (7,620 m; pO(2) = 59.

Genetics of migraine and pharmacogenomics: some considerations.

Migraine is a complex disorder caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Although family and twin studies show that there is a genetic component in migraine, no genes predisposing to common forms of the disorder, migraine with and without aura, have been identified. Patients with migraine respond differently to a given drug administered.

Salivary cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate (DHEA-S) and testosterone in women with chronic migraine.

Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity was monitored in 20 women with chronic migraine (CM), previously affected by medication overuse headache (MOH), in comparison to healthy women (20 subjects) by measuring salivary cortisol, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate (DHEA-S) levels, and their ratios, one week after the end of the MOH rehabilitation procedure. The participants were instructed how to collect saliva samples at home, a procedure that was performed twice a day (08:00 a.m.