Twenty-four-hour beta-endorphin secretory pattern in stroke patients.
OBJECTIVE
Abnormalities of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis function have been observed frequently in stroke patients. The aim of this study was to investigate plasma beta-endorphin and cortisol 24-hour secretory patterns in patients early after stroke and in the convalescent period to evaluate a possible influence of brain damage on hormonal circadian pattern.


METHODS
Patients (n = 15; age, 46 to 75 years) were evaluated in the first 24 hours and 10 days after hospital admission for ischemic cerebral stroke and compared with 15 age- and sex-matched normal subjects. Blood samples for beta-endorphin and cortisol determination were drawn every 4 hours from 8 AM to 8 PM and every 2 hours from midnight to 6 AM.


RESULTS
Mean 24-hour beta-endorphin and cortisol levels, recorded in the acute phase, were significantly (P < .05) higher than those recorded in normal subjects; circadian rhythm was not demonstrable for either hormone. In the convalescent period, plasma cortisol 24-hour mean values and circadian rhythm returned to the normal range, whereas the plasma beta-endorphin 24-hour mean values and circadian rhythm did not.


CONCLUSIONS
Cerebral stroke induces abnormalities of beta-endorphin and cortisol circadian secretion. Whereas cortisol abnormalities are transient, those of beta-endorphin last longer. The dissociation between beta-endorphin and cortisol 24-hour secretory patterns might potentially serve as a marker of psychoneurological abnormalities occurring after stroke.
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, Italy.
R
R
Franceschini
C
C
Gandolfo
A
A
Cataldi
M
M
Del Sette
P
P
Cianciosi
C
C
Finocchi
E
E
Rolandi
T
T
Barreca
D000368:Aged; D002545:Brain Ischemia; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000097:blood*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D003289:Convalescence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D001615:beta-Endorphin / Q000097:blood*
D001615:beta-Endorphin; D006854:Hydrocortisone