El cortisol en pelo como marcador biológico del estrés crónico y de la depresión

Abstract

The main biological system responsible for the stress response is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The final product of the HPA axis is cortisol which is a powerful endogenous glucocorticoid, therefore, glucocorticoids are commonly used as biomarkers of stress responses. In addition, the responses to stress might play an important role in the genesis and the onset of depressive states. The techniques mostly used to evaluate stress are based on salivary or plasma measurement of glucocorticoids. However, these measurements do not allow a retrospective analysis and are subject to the variations of the circadian rhythms. Analysis of cortisol in segments of hair has recently been introduced in biomedical research. Since hair growth is about a centimetre per month, the most proximal to the scalp would correspond to recent accumulations of cortisol and the more distal centimetres would correspond to the body's exposure to cortisol in the course of the past few months. The previous studies compared the concentrations of cortisol in hair of different populations with regard to healthy controls. However, only one study has demonstrated that these concentrations are high in patients suffering from major depression compared to healthy controls. Nevertheless, in this work, the different stages of the disease are neither analysed nor related to concentrations of cortisol.

Date of Award	14 Dec 2015
Original language	Spanish
Awarding Institution	Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau
Supervisor	Maria Jesus Portella Moll (Director) & Victor Pérez Solà (Director)