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Current stress treatments involve doses of potent chemicals that override the body's natural coping mechanisms

Drugs designed to combat stress may be more effective if they work with the body's natural hormonal rhythms rather than simply saturating the body with potent chemicals, a study has found.

Researchers at Bristol University said pharmaceutical companies should design drugs that work in harmony with the body's own "built-in processes" that automatically combat stress.

The team said drugs that work in addition to the body's HPA axis - the system by which stress hormones are regulated - could prevent long-term damage caused by stressful situations, as well as reducing the need for high-strength drug treatments designed to override the body's natural defences.

Dr John Terry explained: "Think about taking a shower - you turn the tap on to hot, but the water stays cold for a while. Then it gets too hot, so you turn it down. The temperature oscillates due to the delay between you adjusting the tap and the feedback you receive from the water temperature. It is the same principle at work in this complicated hormone system."

The efficiency of future drug treatments could be vastly improved if they are designed to take these rhythmic changes into account, the team said.

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