Job satisfaction and cortisol awakening response in teachers scoring high and low on burnout.

The burnout syndrome is an important psychosocial risk in the job context, especially in professions with a strong social interaction, as in the case of teaching. High levels of burnout have been related to negative psychological indicators and hormonal alterations. This study compares job satisfaction and the cortisol awakening response (CAR) in teachers scoring high (HB) and low (LB) on burnout. HB teachers showed lower job satisfaction and no significant differences in the CAR when compared with the LB group. The results of the study suggest a general dissatisfaction with work along with a different functioning of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis in HB teachers. Although non significantly, they showed a lower magnitude of the CAR than LB teachers. When considering the whole sample, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization correlated negatively and personal accomplishment positively with each subscale of the job satisfaction questionnaire whereas cortisol levels or CAR did not correlate significantly with both burnout subscales and job satisfaction. These results should be taken into account when working to prevent burnout in teachers, as the modified parameters could be considered indicators of the onset or development of the syndrome.

Effect of naloxone therapy on depersonalization: a pilot study.

To test the hypothesis of the role for the opioid system in the pathogenesis of depersonalization, the effect of naloxone (an opioid receptor blocker) on the symptoms and corticosteroids secretion was studied in patients with depersonalization syndrome. Fourteen depersonalization patients were treated with naloxone: 11 patients received single doses (1.6 or 4 mg i.v.) and three others received multiple infusions, with the maximal dosage being 10 mg, and the effect of naloxone on symptom severity was determined. In eight patients, the cortisol, cortisone and corticosterone content in the blood plasma was determined prior to and after the 4 mg naloxone infusion. A reversed-phase microcolumn high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection was applied for assessment of glucocorticoids. In three of 14 patients, depersonalization symptoms disappeared entirely and seven patients showed a marked improvement. The therapeutic effect of naloxone provides evidence for the role of the endogenous opioid system in the pathogenesis of depersonalization.

[Oxidative modification of blood proteins in patients with psychiatric disorders (depression, depersonalization)]. / Okislitel'naia modifikatsiia belkov plazmy krovi bol'nykh psikhicheskimi rasstroistvami (depressiia, depersonalizatsiia).

We determined the oxidative modification of proteins (spontaneous and metal-catalysing oxidation, MKO) and the level of corticosteroids in patients with the depersonalization and depression. For detecting oxidative modification of plasma proteins we measured the concentration of protein carbonyl groups formed with 2,4dinitrophenylhydrazine 2,4dinitrophenylhydrazone derivatives; the formation of dityrosine by fluorescence method; protein aggregation and fragmentation. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-PAGE in the presence beta-mercaptoethanol was used to determine the aggregation or fragmentation of proteins by oxygen radicals (OH). Acid-soluble peptides were analised as products of the fragmentation oxidative modification proteins. The level of the corticosteroids was determined using HPLS. The increase of the concentration of protein carbonyl groups in blood plasma of patients with mental disorders. In patients with depersonalization we determined the increase of the bityrosyl cross-link, and different degrees of fragmentation compared with depressive patients. The cortisol level was decreased and corticosterone was increased in the blood plasma of patients with depersonalization. In depressive patients the cortisol level was increased and corticosterone was decreased is discussed. We discussed the role oxidative modification proteins in the disturbance of the corticosteroid and opioid receptors functions in the patients with mental disorders.

[High performance liquid chromatography of corticosteroids in patients with depression and depersonalization]. / Vysokoéffektivnaia zhidkostnaia khromatografiia kortikosteroidov u bol'nykh s depressiei i depersonalizatsiei.

Six corticosteroids were measured by high performance microcolumn reverse-phase liquid chromatography in patients with the depressive syndrome and depersonalization. Changes in the blood concentrations of hydrocortisone, cortisone, and corticosterone were revealed. The method is recommended as an additional tool for the differential diagnosis of depressions and depersonalization.