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Hormonal (ACTH, Cortisol, β‐Endorphin, and Met‐Enkephalin) and Cardiovascular Responses to Hyperthermic Stress in Chronic Alcoholics
Author(s) -
Vescovi P. P.,
DiGennaro C.,
Coiro V.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1997.tb04437.x
Subject(s) - medicine , abstinence , endocrinology , blood pressure , beta endorphin , hyperthermia , hormone , endocrine system , adrenocorticotropic hormone , endogenous opioid , chronic alcoholic , opioid , psychiatry , receptor
Chronic alcohol drinking causes profound alterations in hypothalamic‐pituitary function. In the present study, endocrine [corticotropin (ACTH), β‐endorphin, cortisol, and met‐enkephalin] and cardiovascular (blood pressure) changes in response to hyperthermic stress (sauna at 90°C for 30 min) were evaluated in 25 normal men (25 to 50 years old) and in 48 male alcoholic subjects (34 to 56 years old) after 5 weeks of abstinence. Significantly lower increments in systolic blood pressure were observed in alcoholics than in control subjects. Furthermore, alcoholics showed lower ACTH, β‐endorphin, and cortisol increments in response to sauna than normal controls. In contrast, sauna‐induced hyperthermia did not change significantly the circulating met‐enkephalin levels in either normal controls or chronic alcoholics. These data suggest that an impairment in the adaptive response to stress affects alcoholic men even after a few weeks of abstinence from alcohol.