Stress influences numerous psychological and physiological processes, and its effects have practical implications in a variety of professions and real-world activities. However, few studies have concurrently assessed multiple behavioral, hormonal, nutritional and heart-rate responses of humans to acute, severe stress. This investigation simultaneously assessed cognitive, affective, hormonal, and heart-rate responses induced by an intensely stressful real-world environment designed to simulate wartime captivity. Sixty males were evaluated during and immediately following participation in U.S. Army Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) school, three weeks of intense but standardized training for Soldiers at risk of capture. Simulated captivity and intense mock interrogations degraded grammatical reasoning (p<0.005), sustained-attention (p<0.001), working memory (p<0.05) and all aspects of mood assessed by the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire: Tension/Anxiety, Depression/Dejection, Anger/Hostility, Vigor/Activity, Fatigue/Inertia; Confusion/Bewilderment, and Total Mood Disturbance (p<0.001) It also elevated heart rate (p<0.001); increased serum and salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-s) (p<0.01); elevated serum epinephrine, norepinephrine, and soluble transferrin receptors (sTfR) (p<0.01); increased salivary neuropeptide-Y (NPY) (p<0.001); and decreased serum prolactin and serum and salivary testosterone (p<0.001). Partial recovery was observed immediately after training, but stress-induced changes, particularly in body weight and several of the biomarkers, persisted. This study demonstrates that when individuals were exposed to realistic and controlled simulated captivity, cognition, mood, stress hormones, nutritional status and heart rate are simultaneously altered, and each of these subsequently recovers at different rates.
Verglichen mit der einfachen Handhabung des oralen Glucosetoleranztests ist der intravenöse Glucosetoleranztest zwar aufwendiger, zugleich aber aussagekräftiger, wenn es darum geht, latente oder beginnende diabetische Stoffwechselstörungen aufzudecken. Dabei verdient die kontinuierliche Aufzeichnung der Blutglucose den Vorzug vor Stichprobenuntersuchungen, weil sie einerseits Beginn und Ende des exponentiellen Abbaus besser zu beurteilen, anderseits den Regressionswinkel genauer zu bestimmen erlaubt. Am günstigsten erwies sich far diesen Zweck eine Dosis von 0,33 g/kg Körpergewicht, die innerhalb von zwei Minuten intravenös injiziert werden sollte, nachdem der Proband zuvor mindestens 24 Stunden keinen Alkohol, mindestens 12 Stunden keine Nahrung zu sich genommen hatte und die letzte Mahlzeit möglichst kohlenhydratarm war. Aus der Blutzuckerkonzentration, die in bestimmten Abständen gemessen wirderstmals vier Minuten nach Injektionsbeginn, dann von der 10. bis zur 60. Minute alle zehn Minuten sich die Assimilationskonstante kG berechnen. Bei kG-Werten iiber 2,5 besteht Verdacht auf Insulin-überproduktion, der Normalbereich liegt zwischen 1,0 und 2,5, kG-Werte zwischen 0,7 und 1,0 zeigen Stoffwechselstörungen mit herabgesetzter Glucosetoleranz ohne manifeste Zeichen eines Diabetes an, und kG-Werte unter 0,7 kennzeichnen den manifesten Diabetes mellitus. 34, 53, 59). Da oft erhebliche Meinungsverschiedenheiten über die Beurteilung des intravenösen Glucosetoleranztests be-142,4 Kruse-Jarres u. a.: Zum intravenösen Glucosetoleranztest Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift
Exposure to intense stress is known to alter affective and cognitive behavior more profoundly in some individuals than others. Recently, we had the opportunity to examine the biochemical, cognitive and mood changes (Profile of Moods) associated with intense military training known as SERE school (Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape). SERE is a unique environment to examine Soldiers’ responses to stress in a realistic, standardized and carefully monitored military context in which students apply newly learned resistance skills to a variety of captivity scenarios. From baseline to the end of SERE (~2wks), serum testosterone and prolactin were both substantially depressed from 468ng/ml to 156ng/ml and 13.8ng/ml to 5.46ng/ml, respectively (p <.001). In contrast, epinephrine and norepinepherine remained elevated from 41pg/ml to 67pg/ml and 468pg/ml to 754.8pg/ml, respectively (p<.001). Interestingly, changes in mood states were not reflective of these prolonged endocrine alterations, as depression, tension, anger, and confusion returned to approximately baseline levels at recovery. This suggests that changes in these hormonal levels are not reliable biomarkers of mood in this elite population. This research was supported by the Office of Naval Research and US Army Medical Research and Material Command.
Observational data suggest positive relationships between n‐3 fatty acids (FA) and mental health. FA metabolism may be disrupted in depression, but relationships between n‐3 FAs and acute stress have not been examined. Thus, we utilized multiple regression modeling to determine associations between fasted baseline serum n‐3 FA expressed as % of total FA [α‐linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6)]; midday baseline saliva hormone concentrations; and mood among US Army Soldiers (n=59, 26.9±2.9 y) during Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape (SERE) school. Mood, assessed by the Profile of Mood States, was evaluated following an acutely stressful simulated interrogation conducted during ~12 days of intermittent sleep and food deprivation. ALA was associated with increased cortisol (p<0.01), and EPA was inversely associated with testosterone (p=0.04) and dehydroepiandrosterone‐sulfate (p=0.02), after adjustment for covariates. EPA was associated with increased total mood disturbance (p=0.01), tension (p=0.02), depression (p=0.03), anger (p=0.05), fatigue (p=0.02), and confusion (p=0.01), after adjustment for hormones and covariates. These data suggest higher EPA levels prior to stress exposure may be negatively associated with acute stress resilience.Grant Funding Source: Office of Naval Research/US Army Medical and Research Materiel Command
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