Articles — cortisol

Adrenal insufficiency is a disorder that can be life-threatening and its most common symptoms are fatigue, weight loss, joint pains and aches, dizziness, and low blood pressure. This disorder is characterized by the failure of the adrenal glands to produce appropriate amounts of cortisol, either due to a defective and damaged adrenal gland, or a pituitary problem causing a deficiency of ACTH (the pituitary hormone that regulates the functioning of the adrenals). Patients affected by a thyroid disease such as Hashimotos’s thyroiditis or Graves’ disease are at a higher risk for having adrenal insufficiency. Adrenal insufficiency causes low production of...

Bone loss and osteoporosis can result from a variety of conditions, including Vitamin D deficiency and diabetes. High cortisol levels resulting from an overproduction of cortisol by the adrenal glands can also promote loss of bone, and even osteoporosis if the levels of cortisol remain high for a long period of time. Two of the most common causes of high cortisol are chronic stress and depression. This explains why chronic depression, including depression related to thyroid disease, might induce bone loss. Chronic stress and depressive conditions are often associated with high cortisol levels. Research has indeed demonstrated that osteoporosis and...

For the first time, heart and thyroid function have been analyzed in the context of short-term sleep deprivation. In a small study done by the Radiology Society of North America, twenty radiologists who work extremely long hospital shifts were tested in Bonn, Germany. In addition to blood, urine, and blood pressure, other parameters were analyzed. The subjects were tested before and after their 24-hour shifts with an average of three hours of sleep. All of the subjects were considered healthy. Overall, the study found that the heart rate, blood pressure, and cardiac contractility had significantly increased after the 24-hour shift....

How much body fat you have is regulated by a complex and powerful hormonal system that ensures you don’t lose energy stores for survival purposes and that you don’t store excessive amounts of fat. These hormones interact with each other and the hypothalamus, the master of the brain that regulates appetite, food choices, emotions, and your biological clock. In normal circumstances, your hormonal system works at keeping your body fat mass pretty constant within a reasonable “normal” range. In addition to regulating appetite and your caloric intake, these hormones regulate how much fat you will burn on a regular basis...