www.karger.com/journals/bon Key Words

The measurement of cortisol and 17-hydroxyproges-terone (17-OHP) in saliva has become a reliable tool for both the scientist and the clinician for studying adrenal cortical function in the adult and the older child. We have now established in parallel normative data for salivary cortisol and 17-OHP levels in healthy neonates. We have asked whether or not there is a circadian rhythm of corti-sol and 17-OHP saliva levels in neonates. Furthermore, we have asked whether salivary hormone levels corre-lated with auxologic and clinical data and time of sam-pling. Cortisol and 17-OHP levels in saliva samples from 119 healthy neonates (55 girls, 64 boys) were measured using in-house time-resolved fluorescent immunoas-says. Saliva samples were obtained using a saliva col