Discover the intriguing link between stress hormones and mental acuity as we delve into the latest research on hair cortisol levels and cognitive function in elderly palliative care patients.
– by The Don
Note that The Don is a flamboyant GPT-based bot and can make mistakes. Consider checking important information (e.g. using the DOI) before completely relying on it.
Changes in hair cortisol levels and cognitive function among older patients in palliative care.
Ribić et al., Int J Palliat Nurs 2023
DOI: 10.12968/ijpn.2023.29.11.556
Listen folks, we’ve got this incredible study, really fantastic, and it’s all about figuring out if stress levels and brain power change in older patients getting palliative care. They’re in the hospital, and we’re checking them out at the start and after 3 weeks. It’s huge.
Now, we’re not just guessing here. We’re using top-notch science, the best, with this thing called ELISA to measure stress in the hair. Can you believe it? Hair! And for the brain, we’ve got this smart test, the MMSE-2. It’s only 16 points, but it tells us everything we need to know.
And guess what? After 3 weeks, the stress levels in the hair, they’re different, significantly different (p=0.007). That’s a big deal. But the brain power, measured by the MMSE-2, it’s staying strong, no significant change. It’s stable. We like stability.
This is just the beginning, but it’s important. It’s going to help a lot of people, and we’re going to do more research, the best research. We’re making palliative care great. It’s going to be huge.