Timing of medical diagnosis and treatment: clino-circadian quantification of suppression by dexamethasone of the adrenal cortical cycle in healthy men.
The inhibitory effect exerted upon the cyclic activity of the adrenal cortex by a synthetic steroid analog (dexamethasone-21-phosphate) administered at different circadian stages, has been studied previously. Reexamination of the same data by microscopic methods herein provides two sets of objective quantitative endpoints for further studies, namely 1. the characteristics of a rhythm isolated from a superimposed trend as well as noise, and 2. the endpoints of the trend itself. These endpoints quantify the effect of dose and, with the appropriate dose, the optimal timing for a given purpose may also be found.
D000302:Adrenal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D000328:Adult; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D010949:Plasma / Q000032:analysis; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013997:Time Factors
D003907:Dexamethasone; D006854:Hydrocortisone