Hydrocortisone-d4 is intended for use as an internal standard for the quantification of hydrocortisone/cortisol by GC- or LC-MS. Cortisol, known as hydrocortisone when used as a therapeutic, is a glucocorticoid produced by the adrenal cortex in response to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH).1,2 It is an agonist at the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) and the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), with an approximately 6- to 10-fold greater affinity for MR. Cortisol production is increased during periods of stress, and it is a major effector molecule in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) stress response.2 Cortisol levels increase with age and are often elevated in major depressive disorder, certain forms of hypertension, and Parkinson's disease.3,4,5
1.Krieger, D.T.Rhythms of ACTH and corticosteroid secretion in health and disease, and their experimental modificationJ. Steroid Biochem.6(5)785-791(1975) 2.Dunlop, B.W., and Wong, A.The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in PTSD: Pathophysiology and treatment interventionsProg. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry89361-379(2019) 3.Quinkler, M., and Stewart, P.M.Hypertension and the cortisol-cortisone shuttleJ. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.88(6)2384-2392(2003) 4.Varghese, F.P., and Brown, E.S.The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in major depressive disorder: A brief primer for primary care physiciansPrim. Care Companion J. Clin. Psychiatry3(4)151-155(2001) 5.Soares, N.M., Pereira, G.M., Altmann, V., et al.Cortisol levels, motor, cognitive and behavioral symptoms in Parkinson's disease: A systematic reviewJ. Neural Transm. (Vienna)(2018)