Nov 28, 2020 09:00:00

An inspection method to check the stress level with 'earwax' is born

Research results have been announced that 'earwax' is suitable as a method for measuring the stress hormone '

cortisol '.

Measuring Earwax Cortisol Concentration using a non-stressful sampling method: Heliyon
https://www.cell.com/heliyon/fulltext/S2405-8440 (20) 31967-8

Earwax sampling could measure stress hormone | UCL News --UCL – University College London
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/nov/earwax-sampling-could-measure-stress-hormone

Earwax may reveal how stressed you are | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/earwax-reveals-stress-anxiety.html

Scientists hail earwax test for checking stress hormone levels | Medical research | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/nov/03/scientists-hail-earwax-test-for-checking-stress-hormone-levels

Cortisol is a type of stress hormone that is sometimes used as a biomarker when diagnosing depression and is said to link stress with physical and mental health. Hair has been used as a sample for such cortisol tests, but since the cortisol level of hair fluctuates greatly in the short term due to alcohol intake and exercise, it is difficult to use for diagnosis of depression etc., and hair There were problems that the subject was stressed by the act of collecting the sample, and that some subjects could not collect the hair sample.

Dr. Andres Herane-Vives, a member of the Cognitive Neuroscience Institute at University College London, was inspired by the fact that bee nests are resistant to bacterial contamination and the passage of time, and 'earwax' is a variety of suitable tests. He noticed the possibility of storing substances. Dr. Herane-Vives, who developed a cotton swab-like earwax sampling device with protrusions to prevent it from getting too far into the ear, says earwax, hair, and blood samples are ideal for measuring stress levels. I investigated what it was.

When earwax, hair, and blood samples were collected from 37 subjects and examined, cortisol obtained from earwax was least affected by short-term fluctuations such as alcohol, and cortisol obtained by one collection. The result was that the amount of cortisol was large and the stress during collection was low. In addition, the method of obtaining a sample of earwax was quicker and cheaper than collecting hair and blood.

Based on the results of this research, Dr. Herane-Vives has established a sales company 'Trears' for earwax collection devices, aiming to expand new testing methods. Below is the actual earwax collection device from Treears.

Dr. Herane-Vives said she plans to investigate in the future, saying that it may be possible to measure not only cortisol levels from earwax, but also antibodies to diabetes and new coronavirus infections.