Kammerer Martin, Adams Diana, Castelberg Bv Brida von, Glover Vivette
Wolfson and Weston Research Centre for Family Health, Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, Hammersmith Campus, Du Cane Road, London, W12 0NN, UK.
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2002 Nov 19;2(1):8. doi: 10.1186/1471-2393-2-8.
The function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is known to be altered during pregnancy, but it has not been tested with a natural stressor. METHODS: A group of pregnant women (n = 10) were tested towards the end of pregnancy (mean 36.8 PlusMinus; 2.5 weeks gestation) and about 8 weeks postpartum (mean 7.8 PlusMinus; 1.5 weeks), together with a matched control group, with a one minute cold hand stressor test. Saliva samples were collected before and 10 and 20 minutes after the test, and stored for later radioimmunoassay of cortisol. RESULTS: The control group showed a highly significant response to the test. The pregnant group showed no response, and the postpartum group a variable but non significant one CONCLUSIONS: This shows that the HPA axis becomes hypofunctional to a natural stressor at the end of pregnancy. It is suggested that one possible evolutionary function for this is to protect the fetus from the stress responses of the mother.
已知下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺（HPA）轴的功能在孕期会发生改变，但尚未用自然应激源进行测试。方法：一组孕妇（n = 10）在妊娠末期（平均妊娠36.8±2.5周）和产后约8周（平均7.8±1.5周）接受测试，同时有一个匹配的对照组，进行一分钟的冷手应激测试。在测试前、测试后10分钟和20分钟收集唾液样本，并储存以备日后进行皮质醇放射免疫测定。结果：对照组对测试表现出高度显著的反应。孕妇组无反应，产后组反应不一但不显著。结论：这表明妊娠末期HPA轴对自然应激源功能减退。有人提出，这样做的一个可能的进化功能是保护胎儿免受母亲应激反应的影响。
