[Circadian rhythm of the free 17-hydroxycorticosteroid content in the blood plasma of neurosurgical patients before and after the surgical intervention].

Study of the daily thythms of free 17-oxycorticosteroids in blood plasma of patients with tumors of the spinal cord and spine, discogenic pain syndrome, and of those who underwent plastic surgery for cranial defects revealed disturbances in the biorhythms of the adrenal cortex in patients with tumors of the spinal cord before operation. The postoperative period in all patients was characterized by the development of a stress reaction and paradoxical-type curves of the daily content of these hormones on the 3rd day with complete restoration of adrenal cortex biorhythms by the 15th day. The patients examined did not require special hormonotherapy.