Cortisol Levels

[Guest guest]

Marilette,

 

Namaste

 

I have a client that produces high cortisol levels;

symptoms are fatigue, her knees bother her (she feels

it is arthritis) and she has a history of depression.

She is on antidepressent medication. Any help

would be appreciated.

 

In all that is good and loving

 

Jane

 

===============================================

 

 

Dear Jane,

 

Namaste.

 

Thank you for your email.

 

Medical Background:

 

Studies have found that approximately half of patients

with major depression have high levels of cortisol, a

steroid hormone triggered by stress. Now, recent

research suggests that high cortisol levels might be a

cause of depression, rather than a symptom, as

previously thought. If so, scientists believe that

drugs aimed at reducing cortisol levels may be

effective ways to manage depression.

 

" The idea that stress hormones may actually affect the

brain's biochemistry and cause depression is an

evolving concept, " said Owen Wolkowitz, MD, UCSF

professor of psychiatry, director of the UCSF

Psychopharmacology Assessment Clinic, and co-author of

the paper. " Recent studies have amassed enough

evidence to suggest that at least some cases of

depression may be a disease or disorder of the

endocrine system which manifests itself in the brain

rather than in the body. "

 

UCSF researchers reviewed the findings of recent

cortisol-lowering drug studies in the

September/October issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.

 

Scientists first noticed the link between cortisol and

depression in patients with Cushing's syndrome, a

disease caused by an excess production of cortisol.

The normal function of cortisol, which is produced in

the adrenal glands, is to help the body respond to

stress and change. Too much cortisol results in

changes in many of the body's tissues and organs and

may cause symptoms commonly seen in severe depression.

 

Patients with Cushing's syndrome who received

treatment that lowered cortisol levels experienced

decreased depression in 28 separate studies. In the

largest study of 176 patients, researchers reported in

Clinical Endocrinology that 73 percent of their

depressed patients improved.

 

Until recently, surprisingly few studies assessed the

effects of lowering cortisol levels in psychiatric

patients with major depression, said Wolkowitz. To

date, 11 studies have done so. Across all the studies,

some lessening of depression was noted in 67 to 77

percent of patients. Although many were small and not

placebo-controlled, the fact that all of them showed

some effect is worth noting, said Wolkowitz.

 

The only double-blind, placebo-controlled study tested

the effectiveness of ketoconazole, one of three

cortisol-lowering drugs that are currently being

investigated. UCSF researchers found a significant

effect in depressed patients with high cortisol

levels, but not in patients with normal cortisol

levels.

 

Cortisol is probably not the only steroid hormone

related to depression, said Wolkowitz. Scientists are

also beginning to look at DHEA

(dehydroepiandrosterone), the most plentiful steroid

hormone in the body. In another UCSF study, 22

patients suffering from major depression were given

either DHEA or a placebo. While none of the 11 placebo

recipients experienced a significant improvement, half

of the DHEA recipients showed a 50 percent or greater

decrease in depressive symptoms.

 

" These findings raise the possibility of biologically

distinct subgroups of patients with major depression,

although the results are tentative due to the small

number of patients studied, " said Victor Reus, MD,

UCSF professor of psychiatry and co-author of the

review paper. " We might not be able to treat all

people with depression in the same way. Different

drugs and drug combinations might be more effective in

some people than on others. "

 

In addition to hormones, neurotransmitters also play a

role in depression. Whereas hormones are chemical

messengers that travel through the blood stream to

target tissues, neurotransmitters are chemicals that

relay information between cells in the nervous system.

Low levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin and

dopamine have been linked to depression, said

Wolkowitz, and most anti-depressant drugs on the

market effectively raise those levels. Hormones and

neurotransmitters could each affect the other, so

disturbances in both may be important in depression,

he said.

 

Another important factor to consider is that everybody

handles stress differently, said Wolkowitz. For

example, not all people who have high cortisol levels

develop depression, and not all depressed patients

have high cortisol levels, so genetic and

environmental factors are undoubtedly important, said

Wolkowitz. People who suffer from depression may have

a genetic predisposition for high cortisol levels,

poor coping skills, or may have an inadequate social

support network, he said. In any of these cases,

stressful situations can change cortisol and other

hormone levels, possibly resulting in depression.

 

Although the cortisol-lowering drugs currently being

tested have a number of potential side-effects ranging

from nausea to liver damage, anticipated confirmation

of their effectiveness will likely spur the

development of safer compounds, said Wolkowitz.

However, using drugs is not the only way to treat

depression, he said. Cognitive behavioral therapy

(CBT) seems to reduce cortisol levels and increase

DHEA. Researchers are now investigating whether CBT

and various " alternative " treatments, such as yoga and

meditation, yield some of their beneficial effects

through changes in stress hormone levels.

 

In addition to prompting the development of new

antidepressant drugs, a better understanding of the

link between hormones and depression could help

scientists understand the mechanisms by which hormones

and stress affect mental well-being, said Wolkowitz.

 

Source: University of California, San Francisco

Alice Trinkl, News Director 20 September 1999

 

Pranic Healing:

 

1. Invoke and scan before, during and after

treatment.

 

2. General sweeping.

 

3. Localized thorough sweeping and energizing on the

front and back solar plexus chakra with LEV or EV.

Inhibit the over activated solar plexus by energizing

it with LB, sumultaneously will the solar plexus

chakra to normalize.

 

4. Localized thorough sweeping on the meng mein

chakra, the kidneys and adrenal glands.

 

Energize the meng mein chakra with LWG then with LB.

When energizing with LB, simultaneously will it to

become smaller, to about 1/2 to 2/3 the average size

of the other major chakras. Rescan the meng mein and

the other major chakras for comparison.

 

5. Localized thorough sweeping on the front and back

heart chakra. Energize the heart chakra through the

back heart chakra with LEV or EV.

 

6. Make the intention to remove negative thoughts,

and feelings related to stress energy. Apply

localized thorough sweeping on the entire head, the

ajna, forehead, crown and throat chakras with LEV or

EV. Energize the chakras with LEV or EV.

 

 

While energizing the ajna chakra, gently but firmly

instruct the ajna to normalize and harmonize the other

major chakras and organs.

 

If the ajna chakra and/or forehead chakra are

overactivated, inhibit them by energizing with LB.

 

7. Localized thorough sweeping on the navel chakra.

Energize the navel with W.

 

8. Localized thorough sweeping on the front, sides

and back of the lungs. Energize through the back of

the lungs with LWG then LWO. POint your fingers away

from the patient's head when energizing with O.

 

9. Localized thorough sweeping on the basic chakra,

the arms and the legs. Energize the basic chakra, and

the minor chakras of the arms and legs with W.

 

10. Create chakral shields on the front and back

solar plexus chakra and the ajna chakra. Create an

auric shield.

 

11. Stabilize and release projected pranic energy.

 

12. Repeat treatment 3 times per week.

 

13. Encourage the patient to practice the Meditation

on Twin Hearts regularly for stress relief and

improved health.

 

14. Regular aerobic physical exercises.

 

Love,

 

Marilette

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pranic Healing is not intended to replace orthodox medicine, but rather to

complement it. If symptoms persist or the ailment is severe, please consult

immediately a medical doctor and a Certified Pranic Healer . ~ Master Choa Kok

Sui

 

Miracles do not happen in contradiction to nature, but only to that which is

known to us in nature. ~ St. Augustine

 

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http://health./

 

For the latest International Information regarding GMCKS Pranic Healing, visit

http://www.pranichealing.org.

 

 

 

 

 

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