Abstract
Surgical stress, but not anesthesia induction, produced a significant increase in plasma beta-endorphin immunoreactivity in eight patients undergoing abdominal surgery. This increase was closely correlated with a parallel increase in plasma cortisol. Post-operative morphine administered for pain relief was associated with a significant reduction in plasma levels of both beta-endorphin and cortisol. These results demonstrate the responsiveness of the endorphin system to acute stress in humans and provide additional evidence linking plasma beta-endorphin to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1249-1254 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Life Sciences |
Volume | 29 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 21 1981 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pharmacology