cortisol
Sign in to saveCortisol is a steroid hormone in the glucocorticoid class of hormones and a stress hormone. When used as medication, it is known as hydrocortisone.
AI overview
Cortisol is a hormone your body naturally produces that helps regulate stress responses and other important functions. When doctors use it as a medicine, they call it hydrocortisone, and it can help treat various conditions related to inflammation and hormone imbalances.
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Article
35 sectionsContents
- Health effects
- Metabolic response
- Metabolism of glucose
- Metabolism of proteins and lipids
- Immune response
- Other effects
- Metabolism
- Glucose
- Bone and collagen
- Amino acid
- Electrolyte balance
- Sodium
- Potassium
- Stomach and kidneys
- Memory
- Circadian and ultradian rhythms in cortisol
- Stress
- Effects during pregnancy
- Cortisol face
- Synthesis and release
- Testing of individuals
- Disorders of cortisol production
- Regulation
- Factors increasing cortisol levels
- Biochemistry
- Biosynthesis
- Metabolism
- 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases
- A-ring reductases (5alpha- and 5beta-reductases)
- Cytochrome P450, family 3, subfamily A monooxygenases
- Chemistry
- Animals
- See also
- References
- External links
Cortisol is a steroid hormone in the glucocorticoid class of hormones and a stress hormone. When used as medication, it is known as hydrocortisone.
Cortisol is produced in many animals, mainly by the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex in an adrenal gland. In other tissues, it is produced in lower quantities. By a diurnal cycle, cortisol is released and increases in response to stress and a low blood-glucose concentration. It functions to increase blood sugar through gluconeogenesis, suppress the immune system, and aid in energy metabolism. It also decreases bone formation. These stated functions are carried out by cortisol binding to glucocorticoid or mineralocorticoid receptors inside a cell, which then bind to DNA to affect gene expression.