Talk:Cortisol

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This sentence needs a rewrite. I'm not sure what it's supposed to say

  • Since swelling is caused by the immune system, Cortisol can help to decrease the swell and severe allergy reaction. --LeeHunter 23:32, 12 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Should merge with hydrocortisone?

There is another less developed page entitled hydrocortisone. Obviously it deals with the same substance. Perhaps that entry should be merged with this one? KBi 03:25, 3 May 2005 (UTC)

I suppose they could be merged, as hydrocortisone is the synthetic cousin of cortisol (as far as I know)...

According to Guyton, Hall: Textbook of Medical Physiology (p.875), these are just two names for the same substance. --Eleassar777 21:59, 29 May 2005 (UTC)
I looked up online sources such as the NIH and they say that hydrocortisone is the synthetic version of cortisone and that is is similar, but apparently not exactly, the same. Also, some people are allergic to hydrocortisone, though that article is about the skin and perhaps you can be allergic to natural cortisone on the skin or elsewhere. I would keep the article together, as they've apparently been merged now, and simply make sure that the distinction between them is made. Kjkolb 16:46, Jun 14, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Whoa

This article is a little scientifically intense to start off, it would be nice to have a more gentle intro. TitaniumDreads 6 July 2005 11:06 (UTC)

Be bold. Also please source the cortisol/obesity comment with a serious reference. JFW | T@lk 6 July 2005 15:15 (UTC)

[edit] TV ads

what about the tv ads for fat people for otc meds that reduce cortisol. anyone know about info on how they do/dont work and why, & add it to the article - anonym420

I live in a country without direct-to-consumer advertising, so we are spared this. Bottom line: they don't work. It's based on the premise that fat people have hypercortisolism, but this is not so, unless they have Cushing's disease (a rare condition compared to obesity). If these drugs worked, they'd be causing Addison's disease, which is more dangerous than Cushing's in the short term (hypotension and hypoglycemia being phenomena one would expect). JFW | T@lk 12:33, 5 September 2005 (UTC)


[edit] error ?

hello, i am not an expert, but after browsing several related topic on insulin, is there an error on the following paragraph (marked by asterisks), shouldn't the marked word be decreased instead of increased? :

"In normal release, cortisol has widespread actions which help restore homeostasis after stress. It acts as a physiological antagonist to insulin by promoting breakdown of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins and so mobilizing energy reserves. This leads to increased blood glucose concentrations and *increased* glycogen formation in the liver (Freeman, 2002)."

It sounds odd, but most of what I found on Google seems to support the present version. JFW | T@lk 16:41, 20 November 2005 (UTC)

You are right on the logic side but the fact is cortisol is not part of glycogen regulation. I was wondering the same thing until I saw how it goes: If there is increased blood glucose there would be increased glycogen formation. It goes well with the fact that it promotes after stress homeostasis(the epinephrine burst that decreased liver glycogen would be gone).

There are 4 major regulator of glycogen metabolism: insulin and then glucagon, epinephrine and norepinephrine; the first one resulting in increased stockage and the others in increased degradation. Stress normally induced degradation and cortisol is a stress hormone as is adrenaline(epinephrine) but it seems it is more post stress and so that could explain it.

cortisol does not increase glycogen formation and this statement needs to be removed.

[edit] Does Corticol cause Obesity?

is it true the hearing increased cortisol translates into obesity?

Yes, see Cushing's syndrome. JFW | T@lk 10:24, 29 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] pregnenolone

By my understanding, cortisol is synthesized from pregnenolone rather than progesterone. The steps in the cortisol synthetic pathway from cholesterol are: Cholesterol -> pregnenolone -> 17-OH pregnenolone -> 17-OH progesterone -> 11-deoxycortisol -> cortisol.

[edit] correction

I have found an alternatively described pathway that does show that cortisol can be synthesized via a progesterone intermediate. However, progesterone is first synthesized from pregnenolone, still making pregnenolone the original comitting precursor molecule for steroid hormone synthesis.

[edit] Side effects of topical application of cortisol cream

Are there any? I've found its immune-system repression is great for fighting psoriasis but I wonder if there are any long-term effects from repeated use on the same area of skin. 00:14, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

Stretch marks (I developed some after a few uses of 0,1% Locoid only), thinning skin, permanent aged apprearance. With larger areas you also get large absorption and systemic effects. It's really just an emergency medication 82.131.63.11 (talk) 19:56, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Cleanup required

I think the Physiology section is awfully messy/noisy, and in the Pharmacology section, is it strictly necessary with all those ® signs? It's not like you'd write Microsoft® Windows® each time you refer to that family of OSes, e.g. DarkPhoenix 15:01, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Okay, why not replace that template with a section specific one. PhoenixTwo 17:13, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Diseases vs Disorders

Perhaps the section named "Diseases" should be changed to "Disorders," since Metabolic syndrome is not a disease, though Cushing's is. (Also, the wording of the two descriptions, as it now stands, lacks consistency.) D021317c 09:10, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] more on topical application of cortisol cream

After 50 years I am finally able to self diagnose why my procedural memory is fine, but my declarative memory has always been a disaster. Cortisol!!

Throughout my childhood, I suffered from eczema and treated it by applying hydrocortisone cream directly to large open wounds (scratched areas behind knees and inside elbows). It appears the cortisol was absorbed directly into my bloodstream and severely damaged my hippocampus. This explains why I became a Professional Engineer (considered one of the best in my field), yet I have virtually no episodic or semantic memory. 159.221.32.10 13:29, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Effect paragraph

hi, In the effects paragraph, one needs to change "gluconeogenesis" to gluconeolysis. Insulin who is the anti-glucose hormone will act on everything that lowers circulating glucose, ie by producing glycogen in the liver. Cortisol brakes down this glycogen to produce circulating glucose, glucagon has the same effect 159.221.32.10 08:07, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

Welcome. One of the beautiful things about Wikipedia is that you do not need to ask anyone to change the article; you can be bold and update it yourself. --Selket Talk 09:19, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

According to Human Anatomy and Physiology, 5th Ed. by E. Marieb (2001), "cortisol's prime metabolic effect is to provoke nucleogenesis, that is, the formation of glucose from noncarbohydrate molecules..." So, under stress cortisol acts to increase blood glucose levels to prepare for increased metabolic demands.Neuroninja (talk) 08:49, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Effect on liver glycogen formation

Hi, According to the Columbia Encyclopedia on Google, according to Meisenberg & Simmons: Principles of Medical Biochemistry, 2. edition, and according to Boron & Boulpaep: Medical Physiology, cortisol increases glycogen synthesis in the liver, contrary to what the article says.

This makes sense: Cortisol is a chronic stress hormone which prepares the body for the action of epinephrine, a stress hormone working within seconds. In order to enhance the effects of epinephrine, cortisol stimulates glycogen synthesis so that, in times of need, more glycogen is available to be broken down when epinephrine levels rise. Epinephrine and glucagon are the hormones that promote glycogenolysis in the liver.

Cortisol raises the blood glucose level by stimulating gluconeogenesis in the liver, not by stimulating glycogenolysis.

User JFW quotes Freeman (2002) for saying that cortisol leads to increased glycogen formation in the liver, while in the current article, the book is used as a reference saying the opposite.

Are there any sources supporting the statement that cortisol decreases glycogen formation in the liver? Otherwise I'm going to change it. Nelly4 21:21, 12 June 2007 (UTC)Nelly4

[edit] Cortisol production site

Cortisol is not only produced in zona fasciculata but in zona reticularis as well? http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Corticosteroid-biosynthetic-pathway-rat.png —Preceding unsigned comment added by Eslotter (talk • contribs) 01:22, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Glycogen-issue edited

Decided to edit the controversial glycogen formation promoting-statement. Cortisol is a catabolic-agent, and therefore has no anabolic effects e.g. glycogenesis. Sources of information:
Sjaastad ØV; Hove, K & Sand O, 2003. Physiology of Domestic Animals, Scandinavian Veterinary Press, Oslo, (755 pp)
Harvey RA; Champe PC, Ferrier DR, 2005. Biochemistry 3rd Edition,Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews, Baltimore —Preceding unsigned comment added by Little T85 (talk • contribs) 17:09, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Hydrocortisone

"Hydrocortisone" redirects to "Cortisol". However "hydrocortisone" is the name used for exogenous (artificial therapeutic) cortisol, while "cortisol" is endogenous (produced by the body). The "Hydrocortisone" redirect should be changed to show this. Axl (talk) 10:04, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Standards/quality note should be moved to the top of the article

From a readability and clarity standpoint, this entire article is a mess. There are numerous text references to highly esoteric items with no contextual information; there is no (clear) explanation of the varied usage of chemical names to refer to cortisol; there is little information on the relationship between cortisol and cortisone; and the references to various experimentation and research are vague and in some cases appear, at least superficially, to be self-contradictory (e.g., the cortisol/insulin relationship).

Although I could help in cleaning up the comprehensibility and formatting of the text, I'm not comfortable doing so without advanced knowledge of the subject matter. Therefore, I'll just put in my recommendation, and offer to help if it would be useful.

Blckclbrtn (talk) 00:47, 8 June 2008 (UTC)