Horm Res
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Assessment of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function in stress-related health problems in humans is frequently carried out as a dynamic test by measuring the profile of increment in adrenocortical hormone (ACTH) and/or cortisol level in plasma in response to corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) administration. However, obtaining multiple blood samples for this type of test is not only an invasive procedure but also problematic to use in individuals with constricted or damaged veins which collapse during the blood draw such as the injecting drug users (IDUs) and HIV-1-infected individuals. Salivary cortisol measurement presents a non-invasive alternate approach to evaluate HPA axis activity in different situations. In order to validate the efficacy of salivary cortisol measurement for a dynamic test in IDUs and HIV-1-infected individuals, the present study was carried out to evaluate the cortisol profile in matched samples of plasma and saliva in healthy young men in response to ovine CRH (oCRH) administration. ⋯ The findings support the earlier studies and substantiate the efficacy of using salivary free cortisol measurement for assessment of dynamic function of pituitary-adrenal axis in healthy young men and its application in individuals such as IDUs and HIV-infected individuals who may have difficulty in donating multiple blood samples.
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Biography Historical Article
Resurrections in Toronto: the emergence of insulin.
The discovery of insulin remains the greatest and one of the most controversial events in the history of endocrinology. Hypotheses about the possible existence of an internal secretion of the pancreas date from the early 1890s and were steadily modified with the development of the concept of an endocrine system. ⋯ The early use of insulin on starved, dying diabetic children awed everyone involved in the process. With the discovery of insulin, endocrinology moved into the mainstream of medical science.