Adrenal Stress Testing
Adrenocortex Stress Profile is a powerful and precise noninvasive salivary hormone test that evaluates bioactive levels of the body’s important stress hormones, cortisol and DHEA. This hormone test (stress test) serves as a critical tool for uncovering biochemical imbalances underlying anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, obesity, dysglycemia, and a host of other clinical conditions. This hormone test examines 4 saliva samples over a 24-hour period for levels of cortisol and DHEA.
The adrenal hormones cortisol and DHEA function to influence:
- Metabolism
- Anti-inflammatory response
- Thyroid function
- Resistance to stress
Diseases and conditions associated with adrenocortex stress:
- Anxiety
- Back pain
- Cardiovascular disease
- Celiac disease
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Depression
- Hypoglycemia
- High blood pressure
- Insomnia
- Migraine headaches
- Obesity
- Thyroid dysfunction
- Ulcers
- Weak immune system
Changing the amounts of cortisol and DHEA can profoundly affect:
- Energy levels
- Emotional states
- Resistance to disease
- General sense of well-being
Although both DHEA and cortisol are hormones produced by the adrenal cortex, they exhibit many opposing actions.
Cortisol: Many of cortisol’s physiological actions are geared toward the mobilization of reserves. Cortisol is released in large amounts in response to physical, physiological, and/or psychological stress. When stressors persist, the secretion of glucocorticoids can be prolonged, leading to maladaptation of the adrenal cortex and adrenal hyperplasia.
Excess cortisol can adversely affect:
- Bone and muscle tissue
- Cardiovascular function
- Sleep
- Thyroid function
- Weight control
- Glucose regulation
- Immune defense
- Aging
Over time, cortisol secretion can become impaired, resulting in the inability to respond to stress as demonstrated in conditions as:
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Allergies
- Menstrual problems
- Arthritis
DHEA, in contrast to cortisol, exerts mostly anabolic actions and balances the body’s stress response.
DHEA functions to:
- Provide substrate for the synthesis of sex hormones
- Guard against degenerative conditions associated with aging
- Influence immune function and energy production
- Affect insulin sensitivity, thyroid function, protein synthesis and others
Imbalances of DHEA have been associated with:
- Impaired immunity
- Depression
- Insulin resistance
- Cancer
- Panic disorder
- Obesity
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Cardiovascular disease
Test Type: Salivary Test