Elsevier journal to feature hormones/stress research

Elsevier publication Biological Psychiatry is set to feature research into the effects of hormones on stress levels in its August 15th issue.

The company explained that it is important to be able to understand the biological mechanisms that contribute to a person’s ability to be resilient in stressful situations, such as those that people in the armed forces find themselves in on a regular basis.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a hormone which is secreted by the adrenal gland as a response to stress and scientists have been aware that it has anti-stress properties in animals for more than ten years.

However, they did not know until now whether this was also true for humans.

After completing hormone and psychological assessments on a group of soldiers before and after a stressful underwater navigation exercise, it was found that those with higher levels of DHEA were more successful than those with smaller amounts.

Dr Charles Morgan and his colleagues from Yale University and the VA National Center for PTSD state that while more research is needed, the findings are a step forward in the management of stress-related disorders.

Other Elsevier publications include Cortex and the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.