Comparison of Serum Cortisol and Testosterone Levels in Acute and Chronic Central Serous Chorioretinopathy

PURPOSE: To compare the levels of serum cortisol and testosterone in acute and chronic central serous chorio-retinopathy (CSC). METHODS: Serum cortisol and testosterone levels in 30 patients with either acute or chronic CSC were evaluated using chemiluminescent immunoassay. RESULTS: The mean age was 42.43 +/- 6.37 years (range, 32 to 56 years). The mean 8:00 to 9.00 a.m. serum cortisol level was 12.61 +/- 4.74 microg/dL (range, 6.58 to 27.42 microg/dL). The mean serum testosterone level was 5.88 +/- 1.57 ng/dL (range, 2.81 to 9.94 ng/dL). The mean visual acuity was 20 / 65.07 +/- 40.56 (range, 20 / 25 to 20 / 200). There was no statistically significant difference in the mean levels of serum cortisol and testosterone between the acute and chronic cases (p > 0.05), but there was a statistically significant difference in the mean presenting visual acuity in the two groups (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: All except one patient in the acute group had normal levels of serum cortisol. Testosterone levels were within the normal range in both the acute and chronic cases of CSC. There is unlikely to be any statistically significant difference in the mean levels of serum cortisol and testosterone between the acute and chronic cases, but there may be a statistically significant difference in the mean presenting visual acuity in these groups.

Serum cortisol and testosterone levels in idiopathic central serous chorioretinopathy.

Context: The preferential occurrence of idiopathic central serous chorioretinopathy (ICSC) in males with a typical Type A personality and behavior and a relative absence in females is a possible indicator towards the role of serum cortisol and /or the male sex hormone testosterone. Aims: To study levels of cortisol and testosterone in ICSC. Settings and Design: Case-control study in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 23 cases of ICSC. Twelve patients with unilateral sudden painless loss of vision of less than one month duration served as controls. Serum cortisol and testosterone levels at 8.00 a.m. were estimated by radioimmunoassay in both groups. Statistical analysis used: Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 13.0 software. Independent Sample t-test was applied to analyze statistical significance between the two groups. Results: Mean age of patients with ICSC was 37.1 ± 9.7 years and 96% of the patients were males. Mean serum cortisol levels were significantly higher (P=0.002) in patients with ICSC i.e., 495.02 ± 169.47 nano moles/liter (nmol/L) as compared to controls i.e., 362.25 ± 51.54 nmol/L. Mean serum testosterone levels were 3.85 ± 1.81 nano grams/ml (ngm/ml) and 4.23 ± 1.89 ngm/ml in cases and controls respectively and the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.58). Conclusions: ICSC is associated with elevated 8.00 a.m. serum cortisol levels. However, mean serum testosterone levels in both patients of ICSC and controls were within normal range.