A study on physiological changes in certain psychosomatic disorders with reference to cortisol, blood glucose and...

Plasma cortisol, blood glucose, serum lipids and lipoproteins were estimated in diseased human subjects and normal control volunteers. Serum triglyceride (Tg) total cholesterol (Tc) and cholesterol content of very low density lipoprotein (VLDLc), low density lipoprotein (LDLc) and high density lipoprotein (HDLc) were assayed under lipid profile. Clinical investigations were carried out on 115 subjects which involved 30 control, 25 irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), 30 bronchial asthma and 30 rheumatoid arthritis patients. The results of this preliminary study showed a significant change in the levels of all the biochemical parameters in diseased subjects in comparison with controls. Increased levels of atherogenic lipids, Tg, VLDLc and LDLc were found in rheumatoid arthritis subjects. This suggests that arthritis subjects are relatively at higher risk of developing coronary heart disease. Furthermore hypercholesterolemia may aggravate the risk condition in arthritis patients by artereosclerosis. The significant elevation in the levels of plasma cortisol reveals the fact that rheumatoid arthritis is a stabilized and chronic psychosomatic disorder, since, homeostatic competence is disrupted following decline in the tendency of stress-response to return to normalcy.