German researchers have found additional evidence that the stress hormone cortisol can have positive effects in certain situations. Although chronic stress, which brings long-term elevations of cortisol in the bloodstream, can weaken the immune system and induce depression, this new study adds to mounting evidence that cortisol given near in time to a physical or psychological stress may lessen the stressor's emotional impact. Psychologists are especially interested in what this means for preventing and treating post-traumatic stress disorder.

Psychologists Serkan Het, MSc, and Oliver Wolf, PhD, of the University of Bielefeld, enlisted 44 healthy women for a double-blind study, in which neither researchers or participants knew the condition to which the women were assigned. One hour before a psychosocial stress test, participants were given either a 30 mg. dose of oral cortisol or a placebo. That 30 mg. dose of cortisol seems to have worked as a buffer for the women when exposed to a stressor. Afterwards, the cortisol-treated women developed, on average, less negative mood states as a result of the stress-producing activity when compared with placebo-treated women. Wolf says that whereas chronically elevated cortisol levels can be damaging to both mood and immunity, a short spike in cortisol levels may be protective.

Prior research has suggested that low-dose treatment with cortisol can offer relief from the core symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, in patients with social phobia exposed to a social stress situation, pre-treatment with cortisol has reduced anxiety. This study in healthy participants adds to the growing body of evidence that cortisol may be a useful clinical tool. Says Wolf, "e;Our study suggests that when it comes to the negative effects of stress on the emotions, an anticipatory rise in cortisol levels prior to a stressor might help someone to cope with the stressor more efficiently. This might have implications for treating and preventing post-traumatic stress and other anxiety disorders."

Reference:

"Mood Changes in Response to Psychosocial Stress in Healthy Young Women: Effects of Pretreatment with Cortisol," Serkan Het, MSc, and Oliver T. Wolf, PhD, University of Bielefeld; Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol. 121, No. 1.