Sunday, October 12, 2014

Quick, Easy, Inexpensive Cortisol Testing Should Soon Be Available on All Smartphones

June 2014

Quick, Easy, Inexpensive Cortisol Testing Should Soon Be Available on All Smartphones

Contact: Aaron Lohr
Director, Media Relations
Phone: 202.971.3654
alohr@endocrine.org		Contact: Jenni Glenn Gingery
Manager, Media Relations
Phone: 202.971.3655
jgingery@endocrine.org

CHICAGO, IL—Researchers have developed a device that uses any smartphone to measure the cortisol concentration in saliva. The device was presented Tuesday, June 24, at ICE/ENDO 2014, the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society in Chicago.

"We have developed a method for measuring cortisol in saliva using a smartphone and a disposable test strip. This innovation enables anyone with a smartphone to measure their salivary cortisol level quickly, accurately, and affordably," said lead study author Joel R. L. Ehrenkranz, MD, director of diabetes and endocrinology of the Department of Medicine at Intermountain Healthcare in Murray, Utah.

Cortisol is a hormone made by the adrenal glands that's essential for the body's response to stress, and measuring cortisol can help diagnose adrenal diseases and monitor stress levels. Current testing for salivary cortisol levels involves collecting a saliva sample and sending it to a clinical lab for analysis.

"A lab charges about $25 to $50 for a quantitative salivary cortisol test and has a turnaround time of days to a week. This test, taken in a medical office or at home, will cost less than $5 and take less than 10 minutes," Dr. Ehrenkranz said. "The device is a reader that includes a case, a light pipe, and a lens and costs about a dollar to make. There is no battery power and it's unbreakable, passive and reusable."

Doctors worldwide can use the smartphone test to help them diagnose adrenal insufficiency and hypercortisolism and monitor physiologic variations in cortisol concentration; and individuals can monitor their own cortisol levels whenever they like. 

The software is "operating-system-agnostic," he explained, meaning that the device can be used on all platforms, including iOS, Android, Windows, and BlackBerry, and it has a universal form factor that works with all smartphones.

The person being tested inserts a straw-like saliva collector under the tongue. The collector wicks the saliva by capillary action to an immunoassay strip housed in a cassette and the cassette is inserted into the reader. The smartphone uses its camera and flash to take a picture of the saliva-coated strip and an algorithm converts the image's pixel density to a cortisol value.

Marketing this test as a cortisol assay would make it a class 2 medical device, Dr. Ehrenkranz explained. He and his research team are now collecting clinical data for the FDA submission, and hope to attain approval in 2015.

This study was privately funded.

# # #

Founded in 1916, the Endocrine Society is the world's oldest, largest and most active organization devoted to research on hormones and the clinical practice of endocrinology.  Today, the Endocrine Society's membership consists of over 17,000 scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in more than 100 countries. Society members represent all basic, applied and clinical interests in endocrinology. The Endocrine Society is based in Washington, DC. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/EndoMedia.




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Handheld Cortisol Sensor for PTSD via iStart.org

Let's reward the businesses out there working to make a cortisol meter!

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Abstract

Our cortisol sensing technology enables monitoring of stress levels non-invasively using a nanoengineered biochip and a handheld measurement device. The nanoengineered biochip is both low cost and disposable. We are working with Florida International University and the National Science Foundation's I-Corps program to assess both the market needs and market constraints of the technology from an economic perspective while finalizing the development of the initial market prototype.

- See more at: http://istart.org/startup-idea/consumer-goods-life-sciences/handheld-cortisol-sensor-for-ptsd/24000#sthash.tIzmUwin.dpuf





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Researchers developing a test for real-time stress detection

Ask me! I'll participate. I have over 100 friends who have no adrenal glands. Let us test the device with you. 

- Signed, a Cushing's patient saved by bilateral adrenalectomy but needs a cortisol meter for better quality of life.

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Researchers developing a test for real-time stress detection

Posted by  × 07/25/2014 at 3:26 pm
Shekhar Bhansali (left) and Kelly Mesa (right) are fighting the negative health effects of cortisol.

Shekhar Bhansali (left) and Kelly Mesa (right) are fighting the negative health effects of cortisol.


FIU researchers are developing a test to detect in real-time a person's level of cortisol – widely known as the stress hormone – which could help soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and others who suffer from cortisol's effects, to manage its impact on their health.

Cortisol is released by the adrenal glands as part of the fight-or-flight mechanism. Elevated levels of cortisol can cause a long list of negative health effects, including depression, mental illness, heart disease and lower life expectancy.

Now, with a $50,000 grant from the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program, Shekhar Bhansali, Alcatel-Lucent professor and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Kelly Mesa, a doctoral student in his department, are exploring the commercial potential of their research on cortisol detection. Other members of the team include Gabriel Saffold, a graduate student in entrepreneurship at the University of Central Florida, and Alison Tanner from the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research, who will serve as business mentors for the project.

They are one of 24 teams from universities around the country that will participate in national business development workshops and speak with potential customers and partners to evaluate the real-world potential of their technology. They also will use the Business Model Canvas, a popular entrepreneurial tool, to refine their business model.

Cortisol levels currently can only be measured on tests done in a lab. The team's goal is to see if there can be a quantitative diagnosis for PTSD through a quick test done with a sample of sweat or saliva. The proposed sensor has the potential to aid soldiers with PTSD by providing a tool that allows them to monitor their stress levels throughout the day, Mesa said.

FIU has established itself as a leader in the detection of cortisol through its nanotechnology research. One of four partner universities in the NSF's Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies (ASSIST), FIU is a leader in a national nanotechnology research effort to create small, wearable, self-powered devices that will help people monitor their health.

The FIU team's research involves building a sensor on a strip and the electronics to read it. Within the six-month duration of the NSF grant, the team will determine whether their research is worthy of pursuit.

"We need to understand what our potential customers' needs are and see if our technology can be engineered to serve them," said Bhansali, the team's principal investigator.







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Electrochemical sensing of cortisol

Electrochemical sensing of cortisol: a recent update.

Authors

Singh A, Kaushik A, Kumar R, Nair M, Bhansali S.

Journal

Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 2014 Oct;174(3):1115-26. doi: 10.1007/s12010-014-0894-2. Epub 2014 Apr 11.

Affiliation


Abstract

Psychological stress caused by everyday lifestyle contributes to health disparities experienced by individuals. It affects many biomarkers, but cortisol - "a steroid hormone" - is known as a potential biomarker for psychological stress detection. Abnormal levels of cortisol are indicative of conditions such as Cushing's syndrome Addison's disease, adrenal insufficiencies and more recently post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Chromatographic techniques, which are traditionally used to detect cortisol, are a complex system requiring multistep extraction/purification. This limits its application for point-of-care (POC) detection of cortisol. However, electrochemical immunosensing of cortisol is a recent advancement towards POC application. This review highlights simple, low-cost, and label-free electrochemical immunosensing platforms which have been developed recently for sensitive and selective detection of cortisol in bio-fluids. Electrochemical detection is utilized for the detection of cortisol using Anti-Cortisol antibodies (Anti-Cab) covalently immobilized on nanostructures, such as self-assembled monolayer (SAM) and polymer composite, for POC integration of sensors. The observed information can be used as a prototype to understand behavioral changes in humans such as farmers and firefighters. Keeping the future directions and challenges in mind, the focus of the BioMEMS and Microsystems Research Group at Florida International University is on development of POC devices for immunosensing, integration of these devices with microfluidics, cross validation with existing technologies, and analysis of real sample. 

PMID

 24723204 [PubMed - in process]

PMCID

 PMC4179985 [Available on 2015/10/1]
Full text: Springer

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Continuous subcutaneous hydrocortisone infusion viable option to normalize cortisol

"Continuous subcutaneous hydrocortisone infusion viable option to normalize cortisol

Øksnes M. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2014;doi:10.1210/jc.2013-4253.

  • February 24, 2014

Continuous subcutaneous hydrocortisone infusion was a safe approach for decreasing adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol levels to a normal circadian level with minimal adverse effects on glucocorticoid metabolism compared with conventional oral hydrocortisone replacement therapy, according to results in a prospective crossover study.

These data suggest a physiological glucocorticoid replacement therapy may be beneficial and that the infusion may become an option for patients with poorly controlled levels such as those with Addison's disease, according to Marianne Øksnes, MD,of the department of clinical science and department of medicine at the University of Bergen in Norway, and colleagues.

Patients with Addison's disease (n=33) were assessed at baseline and after 8 and 12 weeks in each treatment arm, according to data.

The infusion allowed the normalization of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol levels, and 24-hour salivary cortisol curves appeared to reach normal circadian variation, the researchers wrote.

"This study shows that [continuous subcutaneous hydrocortisone infusion] can safely re-establish the circadian cortisol rhythm and normalize morning ACTH levels in [Addison's disease] patients, which is in sharp contrast to the typical daytime cortisol peaks and troughs and elevated morning ACTH seen with [oral hydrocortisone] treatment," researchers wrote.

The oral hydrocortisone yielded major alterations in glucocorticoid metabolites and metabolic enzyme activities, according to researchers. However, the infusion appeared to restore glucocorticoid metabolism close to normal.

No significant between-treatment differences were observed in sleep outcomes, according to data.

Additional studies are warranted to determine further ultradian rhythm improvement outcomes for patients with Addison's disease.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures."





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