HORMONAL REGULATION OF PITUITARY ACTH 165 experiment was conducted during the regular school term it is obvious that these control data cannot represent truly an unstressed level of serum cholesterol. It does seem likely, however, that the periods of observation do coincide with periods of relatively lesser and greater degrees of mental and emotional stress.As one might expect, these individuals vary greatly in their clinical and biochemical responses to stress. It is apparen't that the situational stress of examination week must have different meaning and hence a differing stress value for the subjects. Further investigation is needed to establish whether this increase in serum cholesterol is harmful or simply part of a normal and desirable bodily adjustment to mental and emotional stress.The difference between these results and those of Beischer(6) may be due, as he has suggested, to his use of fewer subjects and of a particularly and relatively transient stress experience. Our data would coincide with changes which Selye(5) has described in connection with the "resistance phase" of the general adaptive response to various forms of systemic stress. Summary. A significant increase in mean value for serum cholesterol is shown to accompany the mental and emotional stress of examination week in a group of 44 apparently healthy, male, medical students. The mean value for serum cholesterol increased to 238 mg %, which represents an 11% increase over the mean control value of 214 mg % ( P < 0.001).
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