The effects of six-day SSRI administration on diurnal cortisol secretion in healthy volunteers
Ronaldson et al.
The finding, in our words
Home-collected saliva showed that six days of escitalopram steepened diurnal cortisol slopes in healthy women by raising waking cortisol, suggesting SSRIs may correct flattened cortisol rhythms in depression. No effects were seen on cortisol awakening response or total daily output, demonstrating that self-sampling can capture drug-induced endocrine changes.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
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.
At-home saliva sampling for cortisol was feasible over 12 days in two people with poststroke aphasia, with the cortisol awakening response remaining consistent across days and weeks.
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.
This study validated a lateral flow fluorescence assay using quantum dots for saliva and europium nanoparticles for serum to detect cortisol within physiological ranges. The test operates in 15 minutes with a handheld reader, supporting point-of-care and at-home monitoring without a cold chain.
In a study of 46 perinatal nicotine users, dried blood spots and saliva were used weekly to measure reproductive hormones, finding that lower postpartum estradiol and greater peripartum declines in oxytocin were associated with increased nicotine craving and use. This demonstrates the feasibility of decentralised microsampling and remote surveys for longitudinal hormone tracking in vulnerable populations.