Hpa axis responses to psychological challenge linking stress and disease: what do we know on sources of intra- and interindividual variability?

Chronic stress is a major risk factor for several disorders, including highly prevalent diseases such as depression, anxiety disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and the metabolic syndrome (see 3.8 and 3.9). Since the finding of a disinhibited hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in depressed patients (Carroll et al., 1980), it was assumed that alterations in the activity of this system may be a close correlate of stress-related pathology. The HPA axis is a core component of the neuroendocrine stress response.
Source: Psychoneuroendocrinology - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: research