2024 · Scandinavian journal of clinical and laboratory investigation · paywalled
An LC-MS/MS assay for simultaneous determination of 13 steroid hormones and two synthetic steroids in saliva: potential utility for paediatric population and beyond
Dahl et al.
The finding, in our words
A validated LC-MS/MS assay successfully measured 13 steroid hormones and two synthetic steroids in saliva, requiring only 50 microlitres, or down to 2 to 5 microlitres for nine analytes. This shows saliva's viability for non-invasive, patient-centric microsampling and decentralised monitoring in paediatric, neonatal and adult populations.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
Salivary glucocorticoid concentrations were comparable across Salivette Cortisol, passive drool and SalivaBio collection methods, and remained stable for 72 hours at room temperature and 4 degrees Celsius with no significant degradation after repeated freeze-thaw cycles. In children under six years, the SaliPac pacifier swab was well tolerated and collected sufficient saliva for steroid analysis in under four minutes.
Tonge et al., The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism (paywalled) · source ↗
Self-collected saliva and urine samples from prepubertal children with type 1 diabetes revealed altered nocturnal cortisol metabolism, with lower urinary glucocorticoid metabolites and higher morning salivary cortisone levels compared with healthy controls. This demonstrates that decentralised home sampling can detect HPA axis hyperactivity in paediatric populations with endocrine disease.
Brossaud et al., Frontiers in endocrinology · source ↗
This review summarises the use of saliva as a non-invasive diagnostic fluid for systemic diseases, toxicology, therapeutic drug monitoring and neuropsychiatric disorders. It concludes that the ease of self-collection makes saliva particularly suitable for psychiatric patients who may struggle to cooperate with venous sampling.
This study used home self-collected saliva samples to successfully monitor cytokines and cortisol in mothers and infants, finding that a community singing intervention significantly reduced salivary interleukin-6 levels in mothers with postnatal depression.
Kirkpatrick et al., Brain, behavior, and immunity (paywalled) · source ↗
This study found that salivary 11-dehydrodexamethasone correlates strongly with serum dexamethasone, unlike salivary dexamethasone which shows poor agreement. This validation suggests patients could self-collect saliva samples at home to verify dexamethasone absorption for the overnight suppression test.
Marshall et al., The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism (paywalled) · source ↗