Academic and marital stress appear to modulate immunologic function. It is attractive to consider that stress related hormonal secretion could mediate these effects. Although surgical and exercise stress have been well documented to increase hormone secretion the role of psychological stress on pituitary-adrenal hormone release is not clear. Previous studies have examined only a few hormones in subjects at infrequent intervals and the conclusions have been contradictory. Therefore we propose to measure by radioimmunoassay and HPLC all of the candidate """"""""stress"""""""" related hormones, (ACTH, cortisol, growth hormone, prolactin, catecholamines and B-endorphin) in blood samples acquired in sub- jects during the stress of preparing for major medical examinations or during a stressful marriage interactive protocol. Hourly sampling over a 24 hr period in the Clinical Research Center will be performed periodically in both stressed groups of subjects. This 24 hr analysis will permit an evaluation of both day and nocturnal hormonal release. Immunologic, psychologic, and health testing will be performed at the same time. Hence, in this in- vestigation we will provide a comprehensive endocrine evaluation of pituitary and adrenal hormonal secretion that may be influenced by academic and marital stress. This study will fill a gap in the literature by providing a simultaneous evaluation of all the candidate stress hormones in individuals experiencing commonly encountered stressors. Finally we will be able to assess the potential impact of disordered hormonal secretion on the immune system and health status of stressed individuals.
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