Estimation of corticosteroids in human cerebral cortex after death by suicide, accident, or disease
| Autor: | Ann E. Cunningham, David Shaw, Margaret A. Brammall, Francis E. Camps, B. W. L. Brooksbank |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1972 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male Chromatography Gas Hydrocortisone Substance-Related Disorders Physiology Poison control Autopsy Disease Tritium chemistry.chemical_compound Death Sudden Corticosterone Stress Physiological Cortex (anatomy) medicine Humans Applied Psychology Depression (differential diagnoses) Aged 17-Hydroxycorticosteroids Brain Chemistry Cerebral Cortex business.industry Depression Spectrum Analysis Temperature Forensic Medicine Middle Aged medicine.disease Ketosteroids Psychiatry and Mental health Suicide medicine.anatomical_structure chemistry Cerebral cortex Accidents Postmortem Changes Female Medical emergency Chromatography Thin Layer Tissue Preservation business Stress Psychological medicine.drug |
| Zdroj: | Psychological medicine. 2(1) |
| ISSN: | 0033-2917 |
| Popis: | SYNOPSISThe concentration of cortisol (F) has been found to decrease only to a limited extent in intact brain tissue maintained at ambient temperature after death, and the decrease is mainly accounted for as 20-dihydrocortisols (DHF). The sum of F and DHF has therefore been estimated in samples of frontal cortex removed from human cadaver brains collected at necropsy, and taken as a measure of the concentration of cortisol at death. Corticosterone concentration was also estimated. The concentration of cortisol in the cerebral cortex of physically healthy individuals who had committed suicide was consistently as low or lower than in the cortex of control patients who had died suddenly without antecedent severe illness. It is concluded therefore that neither the presumed severe emotional stress preceding suicide nor depressive illness itself is associated with high levels of cortisol in the cerebral cortex. On the other hand, it was found that the cerebral cortical concentration of cortisol in patients who had died from stressful somatic diseases was raised and that the increase was roughly related to the likely degree and duration of the physical stress endured by the patients. There was some indication that the ratio of cortisol (F+DHF) to corticosterone may be lower in the cerebral cortex of suicides than in that of controls. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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