Cortisol Tests Health Article

Definition

This test is a measure of serum cortisol (also known as hydrocortisone), or urine cortisol (also known as urinary free cortisol), an important hormone produced by a pair of endocrine glands called the adrenal glands.

Purpose

This test is performed on patients who may have malfunctioning adrenal glands. Blood and urine cortisol, together with the determination of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), are the three most important tests in the investigation of Cushing's syndrome (caused by an overproduction of cortisol) and Addison's disease (caused by the underproduction of cortisol).

Precautions

Increased levels of cortisol are associated with pregnancy. Physical and emotional stress can also elevate cortisol levels. Drugs that may cause increased levels of cortisol include estrogen, oral contraceptives, amphetamines, cortisone, and spironolactone (Aldactone). Drugs that may cause decreased levels include androgens, aminoglutethimide, betamethasone, and other steroid medications, danazol, lithium, levodopa, metyrapone and phenytoin (Dilantin).

Description

Cortisol is a potent hormone known as a glucocorticoid that affects the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, but especially glucose. Cortisol increases blood sugar levels by stimulating the release of glucose from glucose stores in cells. It also acts to inhibit insulin, thus affecting glucose transport into cells.

The hypothalamus (an area of the brain), the pituitary gland (sometimes called the "master gland"), and the adrenal glands coordinate the production of cortisol. After corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) is made in the hypothalamus, CRH stimulates the pituitary to produce adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). The production of ACTH in turn stimulates a part of the adrenal glands known as the adrenal cortex to produce cortisol. Rising levels of cortisol act as a negative feedback to curtail further production of CRH and ACTH, thus completing an elaborate feedback mechanism.

There are two methods for evaluating cortisol: blood and urine. The most reliable index of cortisol secretion is the 24-hour urine sample collection, but when blood levels are required or requested by the physician, plasma cortisol should be measured in the morning and again in the afternoon. Cortisol levels normally rise and fall during the day in what is called a diurnal variation, so that cortisol is at its highest level between 6–8 A.M. and gradually falls, reaching its lowest point around midnight. One reason for ordering blood cortisol levels versus a 24-hour urine collection is that sometimes the earliest sign of adrenal malfunction is the loss of this diurnal variation, even though the cortisol levels are not yet elevated. For example, individuals with Cushing's syndrome often have upper normal plasma cortisol levels in the morning and exhibit no decline as the day progresses.