Ive been reading about the Salivary Cortisol Test. What is that? Is it accurate?
The principle researcher for salivary cortisols is Hershel Raff at the University of Wisconsin. His e-mail address is hraff@post.its.mcw.edu He is a research scientist, not a doctor. You can contact him directly for ordering info. A New Diagnostic Test! Salivary Cortisol: A Screening Technique By: Dr. Hershel Raff Cushing’s syndrome – endogenous hypercortisolism – is characterized by a loss of circadian rhythmicity. In normal patients, cortisol levels peak in the early morning hours and decrease to substantially lower levels at night. Rather than the normal decrease in late evening cortisol, patients with Cushing’s syndrome of any cause fail to decrease cortisol secretion in the late evening. Therefore, the measurement of elevated late evening cortisol is helpful in the diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome. Obtaining a late night, unstressed plasma cortisol is virtually impossible in most clinical practices.
