Hair cortisol concentration in anxiety disorders: exploration of relationships with symptom severity and inflammatory markers.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) can be used to periodically assess hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function, and appears correlated with prolonged exposure to stress.

METHODS:

Serial assessment (at Baseline, Week 6 and Week 12) of participants (n = 35) with anxiety disorders by psychopathological rating scales, with assays of HCC and levels of peripheral anti- and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Patients underwent antidepressant treatment for an initial 6 weeks, followed by cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor-2 (COX-2) inhibitor (celecoxib) augmentation or 'treatment as usual' for a further 6 weeks.

RESULTS:

At Baseline (n = 35), HCC was elevated in patients with single-episode but not recurrent-episode anxiety disorders, mean IL-12p70 levels were low, and mean TNF-α levels were elevated. Following 6 weeks of antidepressant treatment (n = 33), mean HCC was within the normal range but mean IL-2 level was low. Celecoxib augmentation (n = 18) was associated with a reduction in anxiety symptoms and normalisation of mean IL-2 levels.

LIMITATIONS:

Small sample size. Not all participants were assessed at all time points.

CONCLUSION:

Serial assessment of HCC is practicable in patients with anxiety disorders. These preliminary findings warrant further investigation in larger samples.

• Authors: Hesham Y Elnazer, Laurie C K Lau, Hugo Amaro, David S Baldwin
• Journal: Acta neuropsychiatrica (Acta Neuropsychiatr) Vol. 33 Issue 2 Pg. 104-110 (Apr 2021) ISSN: 1601-5215 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 33054873 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Antidepressive Agents
• Biomarkers
• Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors
• Cytokines
• Interleukin-2
• Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
• Interleukin-12
• Hydrocortisone

Topics

• Adult
• Antidepressive Agents (adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Anxiety Disorders (drug therapy, metabolism, psychology)
• Biomarkers (metabolism)
• Case-Control Studies
• Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors (adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Cytokines (blood)
• Drug Therapy, Combination
• Female
• Hair (metabolism)
• Humans
• Hydrocortisone (analysis)
• Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System (drug effects, physiology)
• Inflammation (metabolism)
• Interleukin-12 (analysis)
• Interleukin-2 (analysis)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Pituitary-Adrenal System (drug effects, physiology)
• Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
• Severity of Illness Index
• Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (analysis, drug effects)