Thesis title: STRESS SYSTEM DYSREGULATION AS A RISK FACTOR FOR CENTRAL SEROUS CHORIORETINOPATHY: GLUCOCORTICOIDS, ADRENALINE AND RETINA NEURO-TOXICITY.
There is accumulating compelling evidence linking stress-related endogenous and/or drugs-related exogenous Glucocorticoids (GCs) with Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC).
The purpose of the present Doctoral Thesis is to investigate the potential association between diurnal trajectories of salivary cortisol and α-Amylase (α-Amy) – markers of Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and Sympathetic-adreno-medullary (SAM) system activity, respectively – and psychological profiles in idiopathic acute CSC male subjects.
A further, more general, purpose of this doctoral thesis is to deepen the knowledge on the physio-pathological modifications of salivary cortisol and Salivary α-Amylase (sAA) production associated with stress perception in subjects with idiopathic acute CSC. In fact, stress can affect the levels of salivary biomarkers (cortisol for HPA axis; α-Amy for SAM system) produced by the body and measurable with a range of sampling regimens.