Does your pet pick up when you're unwell? We mark Women In Science Day by celebrating the work of a previous research grant recipient, Endocrine Nurse Helen Loo and her research into Cortisol Alert Dogs.

Women in Science Day

We are grateful to so many women within the scientific community for their contributions to the diagnosis, treatment, and care of people with Addison's Disease. Today, on Women In Science day we salute them all - from researchers to nurses, endocrinologists to those developing new medical devices. 

Helen receiving the Annette Louise Seal Memorial Award from the Addison’s Disease Self-Help Group at SfE BES 2019, alongside (far left) Dr Helen Turner (Consultant Endocrinologist, Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism), Alison (ADSHG volunteer), Helen Loo, Deana (ADSHG Founder & Patron). ©H Loo

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Cortisol Alert Dogs

One of these wonderful women, Endocrine Specialist Nurse Helen Loo, received the ADSHG Annette Louis Seal Award at the 2019 Society For Endocrinology BES Conference in November. Helen's work outlined findings from her study into the ability of alert dogs to be successfully trained to detect low cortisol levels in patients with Addison's disease.

Helen explains: "Often hailed as a human’s best friend, dogs have been the topic of many scientific studies exploring how they might boost our well-being. The phenomenon of medical alert assistance dogs came to my attention while I was caring for a patient experiencing repeated adrenal crises.

The charity Medical Detection Dogs defines medical alert assistance dogs as trained companions that detect biochemical changes in individuals and alert them to impending health episodes. These dogs can identify distinct odour changes, enabling individuals to take preventative measures to manage their condition. Evidence suggests that medical alert assistance dogs reduce the severity of health episodes, decrease hospitalisation, and improve quality of life.

In the case of the patient under my care, they and their dog had embarked on a training program using Pavlovian conditioning, teaching the dog to detect low cortisol levels based on scent changes. During the study, we gathered data through patient interview and compared their hydrocortisone day curve results from before and after incorporating the medical alert dog in their life. The key findings were that since having the dog she was able to reduce her Hydrocortisone to 25mg per day, indicating better self-regulation; the dog reliably alerted the patient when their cortisol levels dropped below 180nmol/L;

The patient reported feeling safer, more independent, and less anxious about the risk of adrenal crises. In the patient’s words, ‘the increased confidence I felt in not missing low cortisol levels made me feel less scared to be on my own and that I’m not taking too much cortisol’. This shows the patient’s ability to manage steroid requirements was optimised and her quality of life demonstrated significant improvement."

This case along with emerging research, suggests that medical alert dogs could be a support for people with adrenal insufficiency. The ability to detect and pre-emptively respond to low cortisol could significantly reduce adrenal crises." 

"As an Endocrine Specialist Nurse, this has greatly motivated me, as I have seen the positive impact on patient care and outcomes for this rare, specialist group of patients. I am excited about the future developments and research, which we plan to direct from Oxford, and which the Addison’s Disease Self-Help Group and the charity Medical Detection Dogs are keen to support."

Helen writes more about the innovative developments involving cortisol alert dogs and, importantly, how the addition of a dog to the patient clinical care pathway is improving patient outcomes.

Further reading

• Cortisol alert dog: improving patient outcomes? Interview with Helen Loo.
• An abstract of the findings is available on the Endocrine Extracts website
• Read our blog with Jenn and her cortisol alert dog, Joy
• Visit the Medical Detection Dog (MDD) charity website

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ADSHG Research Awards

If you are interested in undertaking medical research into areas related to Addison's Disease, we have awards available to support eligible projects. Areas we support include:

• Projects that will advance good clinical practice in the management of Addison’s disease
• Early-career medical/nursing researchers (less than 5 years post Ph.D.), wishing to pursue a project with relevance to Addison’s disease or steroid-dependency
• Innovations and best practice in emergency medicine concerning adrenal insufficiency and adrenal crisis
• Nurse-led research projects that advance steroid awareness and patient safety submitted as a poster to the Society for Endocrinology's BES conference.

Explore our ADSHG research awards

Our charity is at the forefront of medical research into Addison's Disease. Help us fund medical researchers working in this important but sometimes overlooked field of endocrine research. Please share this story with any researchers and students you know from related fields who might benefit from research funding from the ADSHG.

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