Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR) Saliva Test

Only for Germany and Austria

• We would like to point out that these tests and the shipping processes are optimized for Germany and Austria and are prepaid.
• Samples must be delivered to the German laboratory within 4 days. This cannot be guaranteed for samples shipped from other countries!
• Orders from countries other than Germany and Austria are therefore at your own risk. In this case, we only accept the payment method "Prepayment (directly to us)", as customers cannot then cancel the purchase, e.g., because the sample arrived at the laboratory unusable through their own fault. Purchases made with any other payment methods that customers could unlawfully reverse will be immediately canceled and refunded.
• You can find more information about this from the manufacturer!

Cortisol is one of the most important stress hormones

Due to cortisol's numerous neuroendocrine interactions, an excess of it can, among other things, lead to metabolic disorders with overweight, visceral fat distribution and elevated blood lipid levels, to diabetes, immune defects as well as to a reduced defence against infections and tumours. This results from the inhibition of the cellular immune response with a simultaneous relative strengthening of the humoral immune response. It contributes to being released more strongly in acute and repeated stress situations. In the body its concentration is highest between 7 and 8 a.m.

Because of the considerable time required by a cortisol daily profile for the patient, numerous studies have sought a measurement method that allows simpler sample collection and thus enables a more cost‑efficient test procedure. These requirements are met by the "Cortisol Awakening Response" (CAR).

The "Cortisol Awakening Response" (CAR) is used to estimate the adrenal activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA axis). Within the first hour after waking in the morning, the patient takes five saliva samples for cortisol determination.

O. W. Schweisthal (2007) investigated in a quantitative meta‑analysis both methodological measurement aspects and the influence of various variables on the CAR results. The information content of the CAR is specified by the calculation of various static parameters. The AUCI‑MAX (Area Under the Curve) is, for example, a measure of adrenal reactivity to the awakening stimulus. It includes the absolute increase, the time span from awakening to reaching the peak value, as well as the individual's temporal profile (variations in the slope of increase over time).

The test set contains:

• 1 saliva collection guide
• 1 guarantee certificate
• 1 sample accompanying document
• 1 guide for retrieving results
• 5 saliva tubes (Saliva)
• 5 straws
• 5 labels for samples 1–5 printed with the inscription "Name, Date, Time"
• 2 shipping containers
• 1 shipping bag

How does the ordering process work?

After your order, the desired test package will be sent to you with detailed instructions. You place your sample in a sample container, send it in a prepared envelope to Medivere's partner laboratory GANZIMMUN Diagnostics GmbH and receive a report with the assessment of your profile after 5–7 days.