stressed or depressed? ear wax may be best test
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scientists may have found a simple, new way to test for cortisol levels.
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a simple new method for testing cortisol levels at home will be music to the ears of people suffering from stress or depression connected to the fight-or-flight hormone.
cortisol levels increase as a natural response to impending danger but the hormone can become problematic if it remains elevated in the human body, often leading to a host of other issues — including anxiety, headaches, heart disease and weight gain. with researchers at king’s college london in the u.k. concerned a mental health crisis may not be far behind the covid-19 pandemic, finding an accurate method of testing for the elusive hormone became a priority for their study, published last week in the journal heliyon.
“cortisol sampling is notoriously difficult, as levels of the hormone can fluctuate, so a sample might not be an accurate reflection of a person’s chronic cortisol levels,” said andres herane-vives, the lead researcher of a study at the ucl institute of cognitive neuroscience and institute of psychiatry, psychology & neuroscience. “moreover, sampling methods themselves can induce stress and influence the results.
“but cortisol levels in earwax appear to be more stable, and with our new device, it’s easy to take a sample and get it tested quickly, cheaply and effectively.”
researchers have long relied on hair samples to gauge cortisol levels, but the process is time-consuming, expensive and often provides an incomplete picture. it is also complicated by the fact not everyone has enough hair to provide a reliable sample.
in his search for a better option, herane-vives drew inspiration from nature, in the form of the honeycomb produced by bees. the natural wax found in hives has two useful properties that are both present in ear wax — it is resistant to contamination and it is easy to preserve, making it well-suited for use in home samples that can then be shipped to a lab.
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the researchers developed a device similar in appearance to a cotton swab, but with a “brake” that prevents it from descending too far and causing pain or damage to the ear. the tip is coated with a solution that facilitates sample collection to an extent that the team is optimistic about its potential to also detect glucose levels and perhaps even covid-19 antibodies.
in cooperation with researchers from the u.k., chile and germany, hermane-vives tested the ear wax of 37 volunteers using different methods of collection. in the first stage, researchers collected ear wax using a syringe, a relatively painful method of extraction, from both ears. a month later, researchers extracted the wax from only one ear by syringe and used the new swab on the other ear, while also collecting blood and hair samples.
researchers tested the samples and detected more cortisol in ear wax than the hair samples with the new swab offering the fastest and cheapest results. the method was also less likely to be affected by short-term fluctuations brought about by stress or alcohol consumption, giving a more accurate reading of chronic levels.
herane-vives has set up a company to bring the new swabs to market while continuing research into what else the test can detect. “after this successful pilot study, if our device holds up to further scrutiny in larger trials, we hope to transform diagnostics and care for millions of people with depression or cortisol-related conditions such as addison’s disease and cushing syndrome, and potentially numerous other conditions,” he said.
dave yasvinski is a freelance writer with healthing.ca.
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