title: [Oxytocin: a natural means of treating psychological stress].
abstract: Oxytocin as an endogenous antistress hormone. The neurohypophysial peptide oxytocin (OT), besides it well known uterotonic and milk ejection activity, share also an inhibitory action on corticotrope activity. This has been demonstrated not only in pharmacological (perfusion) but also in physiological (lactation) conditions. This action is opposite to that of its "sister" hormone vasopressin (AVP) thus bringing arguments favouring the ago-antagonist ying-yang hypothesis. A non pharmacological stimulation of ocytocine secretion, as we have recently demonstrated in a preliminary study, related to hypnosis, could induce a beneficial inhibition of corticotrop axis and needs further rigorous experimental approach.
authors.affiliation: Service universitaire d'Endocrinologie, l'Unité de Psychoneuroendocrinologie, C.H.U. Sart Tilman, Liège.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Legros
mesh_terms: D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D010120:Oxytocics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D010120:Oxytocics; D010121:Oxytocin; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D006854:Hydrocortisone