| 1. |
- Aardal, Elisabeth, et al.
(författare)
-
Cortisol in Saliva : Reference Ranges and Relation to Cortisol in Serum
- 1995
-
Ingår i: European Journal of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Biochemistry. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 0939-4974. ; 33, s. 927-932
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to establish morning and evening reference ranges for cortisol in saliva. Another objective was to compare the concentrations of the mainly free cortisol in saliva to those of total cortisol in serum as determined with a commercial radioimmunoassay. The concentrations were determined in matched samples of saliva and serum collected at 8am and 10pm from 197 healthy volunteers. The saliva samples were stable for at least 7 days at room temperature and for 9 months at —20 °C. Reference ranges, the central 95%, were estimated to 3.5—27.0 nmol/1 at 8 am and < 6.0 nmol/1 at 10 pm. The intra-assay coefficient of variation (CV) was below 5% and total CV below 10%. The relation between the cortisol concentrations in serum and saliva was nonlinear with r = 0.86 for serum concentrations < 450 nmol/1 and r = 0.44 for serum concentrations ^ 450 nmol/1. In conclusion, the satisfactory precision of the analysis and the simple non-invasive sampling procedure suggest that saliva may be used for cortisol measurements in situations where blood sampling is difficult to perform.
|
|
| 2. |
- Aardal-Eriksson, Elisabeth, et al.
(författare)
-
Iron depletion in blood donors - Have extended erythrocyte and reticulocyte parameters diagnostic utility?
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Transfusion and apheresis science. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 1473-0502 .- 1878-1683. ; 53:1, s. 76-81
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Blood donation is associated with iron depletion, but donor iron status is not usually investigated, as such tests are cumbersome and costly. It would therefore be desirable to have simple, fast and inexpensive tests that give information on a donors risk of developing iron depletion. In a pilot study we investigated whether novel erythrocyte and reticulocyte parameters can serve this goal. Methods: In regular blood donors extended red cell parameters were measured using the Abbott CELL-DYN Sapphire hematology analyzer and conventional biochemical tests of iron status. Donors were compared with a regionally matched group of non-donating controls. Results: In the controls, the reference ranges of extended RBC parameters were well comparable to published data. Donors had significantly more microcytic RBC than controls (median 0.9 vs 0.6%), lower serum ferritin concentration (median 43 vs 91 mg/L) and higher soluble transferrin receptor/ferritin index (median 1.60 vs 1.27). Overall 18-28% of the donors were iron depleted. Moreover, 3.3% of donors had iron-restricted erythropoiesis. Microcytic RBC and reticulocyte mean cell hemoglobin content predicted iron depletion with 70% and 64% sensitivities and specificities of 72% and 78%, respectively. When combined these two parameters increased the sensitivity to 82%. Conclusions: Our results in Swedish blood donors confirm a high prevalence of iron depletion, despite iron supplementation used by about half of the donors. Microcytic RBC and MCHr appeared to be helpful in identifying iron-depleted donors, who might benefit from iron supplementation. We recommend larger prospective investigations in order to confirm and extend the findings of this pilot study. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
|
|
| 3. |
- Aardal-Eriksson, Elisabeth, et al.
(författare)
-
Pre-trauma Salivary Cortisol Levels and General Health Ratings in Relation to Post-trauma Changes in Cortisol and Psychological Distress after UN-service in Bosnia
-
Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: The psychobiology of post-traumatic distress is known to some extent, however the pre-trauma psychobiology is not. The aims of the present study were to relate pre- and post-trauma salivary cortisol levels and general health to post-traumatic distress in a Swedish UN-battalion in Bosnia.Methods: Salivary 8 AM and I 0 PM cortisol levels and "General Health Questionnaire" ratings were collected from 145 subjects before the six months' mission, at return and two and six months after mission. During follow-up, the ratings were extended by the "Impact of Events Scale" (IES) and "Post Traumatic Symptom Scale".Results: Low pre-trauma morning and evening salivary cortisol levels were statistically significantly related to high scores in all rating scales six months after mission and to increasing IES scores during follow-up. Low morning and high evening post-trauma salivary cortisol levels were related to high ratings of psychological distress six months after missionConclusions: Pre-trauma salivary cortisol levels seem to be related to posttrauma psychological distress, however not to the extent that salivary cortisol levels in a simple way could be used for predictive screening.
|
|
| 4. |
- Aardal-Eriksson, Elisabeth, et al.
(författare)
-
Salivary cortisol : an alternative to serum cortisol determinations in dynamic function tests
- 1998
-
Ingår i: Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine. - 1434-6621 .- 1437-4331. ; 36:4, s. 215-222
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Salivary cortisol was measured as an alternative to serum cortisol as a marker for adrenocortical function following insulin tolerance test, corticotropin-releasing-hormone stimulation and adreno-corticotrophic hormone stimulation. During insulin tolerance test and corticotropin-releasing-hormone stimulation adreno-corticotrophic hormone was also measured. The tests were performed on healthy control subjects as well as on patients under investigation for various disturbances in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (insulin tolerance test: 3 controls on two occasions and 14 patients; corticotropin-releasing-hormone stimulation: 4 controls and 18 patients; adreno-corticotrophic hormone stimulation: 6 controls and 10 patients). Five patients underwent both insulin tolerance test and corticotropin-releasing-hormone stimulation. Using criteria for adequate cortisol response in serum, the patients were classified as good or poor responders. In 42 of the 45 tests performed the same conclusion as to cortisol status was drawn when based on serum and salivary cortisol responses. In healthy subjects and good responders the mean cortisol relative increase was greater in saliva than in serum in all three tests (p < 0.05). Characteristic of the results for the insulin tolerance test was a significant initial mean decrease (p < 0.05), not found in serum, and the highest observed salivary cortisol value was delayed for at least 30 minutes compared to that in serum. Plasma adreno-corticotrophic hormone correlated significantly with the cortisol concentrations determined 15 minutes later in serum (r = 0.54–0.64) and in saliva (r = 0.76–0.85). The more pronounced cortisol response in saliva than in serum and its closer correlation with adreno-corticotrophic hormone offer advantages over serum cortisol, suggesting salivary cortisol measurement may be used as an alternative parameter in dynamic endocrine tets.
|
|
| 5. |
- Aardal-Eriksson, Elisabeth
(författare)
-
Salivary cortisol and posttraumatic stress reactions : methodological and applied studies before and after trauma
- 2002
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The field of psychotraumatology has its roots in ancient history. During the past decades, the surveillance of the psychobiological background of reactions to and consequences of traumatic stress has made great progress and the complexity of the human stress response system stands out. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis activity, modulated by various neuroimmunological substances, seems to play a major role in the stress response. However, there are still inconsistencies in explanations of relationships between biological and psychological changes following traumatic stress. Moreover, the matter of predictive factors for the development of posttraumatic morbidity is still in a speculative phase.The aims of the present thesis were to further develop a commercial serum cortisol radioimmunoassay (RIA) for determination of cortisol in saliva and to test its reliability, specificity and sensitivity as a biochemical assay. The saliva sampling procedures and sample storage stability were also to be tested. Further issues were to investigate determinations of salivary cortisol and serum prolactin in relation to selfratings of posttraumatic psychological distress and general psychological health. Possible predictive and concurrent validity of salivary cortisol as a biochemical marker for posttraumatic psychological distress were to be tested.Cortisol is present in saliva mainly in non-protein form, representing the free, biologically active fraction of the total plasma cortisol concentration. In a first phase of the present thesis, the commercial serum cortisol RIA was modified for determination of cortisol in saliva. The relation between salivary and serum cortisol concentrations was tested. Reference ranges at 8 AM and 10 PM for the salivary cortisol assay were established from 195 healthy subjects. Salivary cortisol concentrations were tested in relation to serum cortisol in estimating adrenocortical function during endocrine dynamic function tests in 37 patients and 13 healthy controls. In testing salivary cortisol as a marker for stress for fieldwork use, a screening study was performed on 66 male rescue workers. Salivary cortisol at 8 AM and 10 PM and serum prolactin were determined and general psychological health and posttraumatic psychological distress were estimated with the self-rating scales General Health Questionnaire, Impact of Event Scale and Posttraumatic Symptom Scale. These scales were used in the second phase of the thesis. Three applied follow-up studies were performed with sampling of salivary cortisol and self-ratings: (a) a study of 31 UN-soldiers five days, two and nine months after a mine accident; (b) a study of 145 UN-soldiers before, at return, and two and six month after a six month mission. (c) a study of 101 UN-soldiers six and twelve months after a six month mission with severe combat exposure.The results from the present thesis indicate that the modified method of salivary cortisol determination possesses sufficient precision, accuracy, sample storage stability and procedural advantages for laboratory, clinical and field application. Moreover, it possesses moderate predictive information and moderate to high concurrent validity as a biochemical marker for posttraumatic psychological distress.
|
|
| 6. |
|
|
| 7. |
- Aardal-Eriksson, Elisabeth, et al.
(författare)
-
Salivary cortisol and serum prolactin in relation to stress rating scales in a group of rescue workers
- 1999
-
Ingår i: Biological Psychiatry. - 0006-3223 .- 1873-2402. ; 46:6, s. 850-855
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Rescue service personnel are often exposed to traumatic events as part of their occupation, and higher prevalence rates of psychiatric illness have been found among this group.Methods: In 65 rescue workers, salivary cortisol at 8 am and 10 pm and serum prolactin at 8 am were related to the psychiatric self-rating scale General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) measuring psychiatric health, and the Impact of Events Scale (IES) and Post Traumatic Symptom Scale (PTSS) measuring posttraumatic symptoms.Results: Seventeen percent of the study population scored above the GHQ-28 cut-off limit but none scored beyond the cut-off limit in the IES and PTSS questionnaires. Salivary cortisol concentration at 10 pm correlated with statistical significance to anxiety (p < .005) and depressive symptoms (p < .01) measured with GHQ-28, as well as to posttraumatic symptoms, with avoidance behavior measured with IES (p < .01) and PTSS (p < .005). Two of the rescue workers were followed over time with the same sampling procedure after a major rescue commission.Conclusions: The correlation between evening salivary cortisol and anxiety, depressiveness, and posttraumatic avoidance symptoms indicates that these parameters can be used in screening and follow-up after traumatic stress events.
|
|
| 8. |
- Aardal-Eriksson, Elisabeth, et al.
(författare)
-
Salivary cortisol, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and general health in the acute phase and during 9-month follow-up
- 2001
-
Ingår i: Biological Psychiatry. - 0006-3223 .- 1873-2402. ; 50:12, s. 986-993
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Because traumatic events are unpredictable, there are few studies of psychobiological states immediately following such events. Our study aimed to determine the relation of salivary cortisol to psychologic distress immediately after a traumatic event and then during follow-up.Methods: Measurement of morning and evening salivary cortisol and ratings of psychologic distress (using the Impact of Events Scale [IES], the Post Traumatic Symptom Scale, and the General Health Questionnaire) were performed with 31 United Nations soldiers at three time points—5 days and 2 and 9 months—following a mine accident in Lebanon.Results: Five days after the accident, 15 subjects reported substantial posttraumatic distress according to the IES, as well as significantly lower morning and higher evening cortisol levels compared with the low-impact group. Within 9 months, the posttraumatic distress of the high-impact group was reduced, accompanied by an increase in morning and a decrease in evening cortisol levels. There were significant relationships between evening cortisol and all rating scales at the first and third time points.Conclusions: Subclinical posttraumatic stress following an adverse event can be measured biologically via salivary cortisol levels soon after the event.
|
|
| 9. |
- Aardal-Eriksson, Elisabeth, et al.
(författare)
-
Twelve Months Follow-up of Salivary Cortisol in Relation to Psychological Distress and General Health in Swedish UN-personnel after Severe Combat Exposure during Six Months Mission in Bosnia
-
Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Our group has presented evidence of relationships between salivary cortisol levels and psychological distress before, during and after trauma-related stress. The aim of the present study was to confirm the part of evidence of relationships between salivary cortisol and posttraumatic distress and their change over time.Methods: Salivary cortisol levels at 8 AM and 10 PM and self-ratings were collected from 106 subjects six and twelve months after a six months UNmission in Bosnia. The rating instruments were the "Impact of Event Scale" (IES), the "Post Traumatic Symptom Scale" and the "General Health Questionnaire".Results: Significant statistical interactions were found between changes in mean cortisol levels and IES scores over time. Decreasing evening cortisol levels over time were significantly related to decreasing IES scores and vice versa. Morning cortisol levels showed negative, and evening cortisol positive correlations with all rating scores.Conclusions: The evidence from previous studies on trauma related stress, that salivary cortisol is related to the development of posttraumatic stress reactions, the morning cortisol in reverse (negative) direction to that (positive) of evening cortisol, were confirmed.
|
|
| 10. |
- Bransky, Avishay, et al.
(författare)
-
A Novel Approach to Hematology Testing at the Point of Care
- 2021
-
Ingår i: The journal of applied laboratory medicine. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 2576-9456 .- 2475-7241. ; 6:2, s. 532-542
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The need for rapid point-of-care (POC) diagnostics is now becoming more evident due to the increasing need for timely results and improvement in healthcare service. With the recent COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, POC has become critical in managing the spread of disease. Applicable diagnostics should be readily deployable, easy to use, portable, and accurate so that they fit mobile laboratories, pop-up treatment centers, field hospitals, secluded wards within hospitals, or remote regions, and can be operated by staff with minimal training. Complete blood count (CBC), however, has not been available at the POC in a simple-to-use device until recently. The HemoScreen, which was recently cleared by the FDA for POC use, is a miniature, easy-to-use instrument that uses disposable cartridges and may fill this gap.CONTENT: The HemoScreen's analysis method, in contrast to standard laboratory analyzers, is based on machine vision (image-based analysis) and artificial intelligence (AI). We discuss the different methods currently used and compare their results to the vision-based one. The HemoScreen is found to correlate well to laser and impedance-based methods while emphasis is given to mean cell volume (MCV), mean cell hemoglobin (MCH), and platelets (PLT) that demonstrate better correlation when the vision-based method is compared to itself due to the essential differences between the underlying technologies.SUMMARY: The HemoScreen analyzer demonstrates lab equivalent performance, tested at different clinical settings and sample characteristics, and might outperform standard techniques in the presence of certain interferences. This new approach to hematology testing has great potential to improve quality of care in a variety of settings.
|
|
