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Research on psychoses, especially schizophrenia, has been focusing on the period before and just after its onset. An interesting topic of research has recently become the influence of stress and dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal axis, which seems to play an important role in the etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia. The researchers are focused mainly on the role of cortisol, but the results are different. However, most studies suggest an increased basal cortisol level in patients with first episode of psychosis or people with a very high risk of developing psychosis, but on the other hand, a dynamic cortisol response to stress is reduced. Another hormone, aldosterone, which has been considered as mineralocorticoid without any function in the brain, appears to affect also psychological functions. There are studies showing the association of aldosterone levels related to clinical status (severity, course and outcome) in depressive disorder. In schizophrenia, there is a pilot study that has a different association with the severity of psychopathology of schizophrenia than in the case of depressive disorder, namely aldosterone serum levels were higher in patients with longer duration of schizophrenia and lower severity of psychopathology, as well as aldosterone / cortisol ratio. Because of lack of knowledge, further studies are needed to clarify the role of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, cortisol and aldosterone as potential biomarkers in psychotic disorders, especially schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We measured plasma concentrations of cortisol and homocysteine in the group of depressive patients and in the group of healthy volunteers. The aim of this work was to detect the association between these parameters and severity of the depression according to diagnostic scales and evaluation of plasma cortisol and homocysteine as biomarkers of depressive disorder. Materials and method: Measurements of plasma concentrations of cortisol and homocysteine before and after treatment (in the day of discharge)were made in the group of 67 depressive patients, which were clinically evaluated according to Hamilton rating scale of depression (HRSD) and scale of Clinical global impression - severity and improvement (CGI-S, CGI-I). Biochemical parameters in the group of depressive patients and in their subgroups (responders, nonresponders, drug-naive) were compared with parameters in the group of 95 healthy volunteers. Results: HRSD and CGI-S were significantly reduced after treatment in all subgroups of depressive patients except the subgroup of nonresponders. We confirmed significant elevation of plasma homocysteine and slight reduction of plasma cortisol according to the age of patients. We did not find any statistical significant differences in plasma levels of cortisol and homocysteine between the subgroups of depressive patients and healthy volunteers. Partial correlations between the biochemical parameters and the severity of depression according to the scale HRSD were not statistically significant. We did not find significant association between the high plasma cortisol or homocysteine and the incidence of depression. We confirmed both high and low plasma concentrations of cortisol and homocysteine during the depression. Conclusion: Average plasma concentrations of cortisol and homocysteine do not tell anything about development either severity of depressive disorder by themselves. It is probably caused by the fact that either elevated or reduced plasma levels occur both during the depressive disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Cortisol and homocysteine are presumed to be risk factors for stress- and age-related disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of this study was to investigate the association of plasma cortisol or homocysteine concentration with AD. Materials and Method: Plasma cortisol and homocysteine concentration were measured in 85 AD patients, and 44 elderly healthy controls. Patients were recruited from the Department of Psychiatry, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General University Hospital in Prague. Results: Plasma cortisol was positively correlated with cognitive impairment in AD patients. We confirmed significant correlation between homocysteine concentration and the degree of cognitive impairment in AD patients. Conclusion: The association of high cortisol and high homocysteine with degree of cognitive impairment or stage of dementia in AD indicate potential role of high plasma cortisol and homocysteine as biomarkers of the disease and/or indicators of brain damage during the progression of AD dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]