The Cortisol Steroid Levels as a Determinant of Health Status in Animals

Abstract

The veterinarian is daily faced with the challenge of diagnosing several disease conditions in different animals. Quantifying cortisol levels has been used in the evaluation of anxiety and distress initiated by infectious and noninfectious disease conditions, mismanagement, transportation, adverse environmental temperature and surgical operations. The hormone-cortisol has been implicated in several immunologic and metabolic processes and can thus serve as a marker to monitor animal welfare. Several factors affect the specific test to be carried out and which sample is to be used. Recently, RIA has been identified as the gold standard for determination of cortisol levels. However it also has its own short comings hence the need to utilize other assay techniques such as ELISA, fluorescence techniques and chemical assays which are more common in our environment. There is also prospect for the analysis of cortisol using non-invasive samples such finger nails as well as ear wax for enhanced test results.

Akt expression and lactose synthesis during heat exposure in Saanen goat

“…This result was similar to the previous study in the dairy cows which showed the plasma cortisol concentration of noncooled cow tended to be higher than that of the cows housed in a close-sided barn under an evaporative cooling system (Chaiyabutr et al, 2008). During stress, the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis (HPA) is stimulated and synthesis of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) by the anterior pituitary (Kannan et al, 2000;Saidu et al, 2016;Isaac et al, 2017). Therefore, increasing plasma cortisol concentration during the afternoon from both seasons in the present study supposedly related to the stress response of HTa effect of the goats.…”

“…The secondly and thirdly levels are the mild degree or reversible heat stress and severe degree or irreversible heat stroke, respectively. These two levels of heat stress risen together with increasing plasma cortisol (Isaac et al, 2017). Since RR, plasma GPx activity, and plasma cortisol from both winter and summer were increased significantly during the afternoon, this suggested that the goats from both winter and summer groups were mild degree of heat stress.…”

Pre-slaughter, slaughter and post-slaughter practices of slaughterhouse workers in Southeast, Nigeria: Animal welfare, meat quality, food safety and public health implications

“…Chronic stress in animals such as poor housing (lairage) condition, starvation/malnutrition and perpetual fear/anxiety due to sights of cruelty and painful killing can inhibit the activities of lymphoid tissues resulting in low immune-cells counts (leucocytopenia), particularly the T-lymphocytes [71][72][73][74][75][76]. Both physicochemical and psychological types of stress in FPAs may lead to persistent high levels of serum cortisol and corticosteroid, causing increased vulnerability to infectious diseases [77][78][79][80]. Exposure of FPAs to stress may also impair the anti-inflammatory functions of the immune system and inhibit the cross-talk of immune cells and signalling networks; resulting in increased susceptibility to infections and diseases; which may be zoonotic or contagious to other animals [81][82][83].…”

The Application of NIRS to Determine Animal Physiological Traits for Wildlife Management and Conservation

“…Assessing animal health and disease is traditionally determined through clinical evaluation by a qualified individual, which is often a veterinarian [68]. For instance, cortisol, a hormone associated with stress, is usually detected through the saliva or blood of animals, using hormone extraction and quantification methods such as radioimmunoassay [69]. Similarly, diagnosing diseases, such as chlamydia in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), often involves collecting a sample from the affected area on the animal for antigen, antibody, DNA, or microbial testing [70].…”