Table 1.

Mean (s.e.) cortisol concentrations (in nmol/l) before, 25 min after and 90 min after the administration of 30 mg hydrocortisone or placebo

Cortisol (nmol/l)	Before treatment	25 min after treatment	90 min after treatment
Cortisol	7.12 (0.85)	224.17 (37.02)a	100.96 (10.31)a
Placebo	6.51 (0.59)	4.47 (0.44)	5.25 (0.45)

Unrealistically high hormone concentrations (>1000 nmol/l) were excluded from the analyses and the descriptives of this table.

^aSignificant increase compared to the placebo group (P < 0.001).