Derived from the Greek word 'hormao', hormone means to excite or stir into
action
Hormones regulate the body's biochemical
reactions for everything the body does and makes. A balanced
hormone presence will decrease the symptoms of aging
(aging skin, memory loss, fatigue, aches /pains /
stiffness, shortened life-span) and restore vitality, sexuality, a slim
figure, a good attitude, healthier bones, a healthier heart, and a sharper
brain.
Present in all multi-cellular organisms, a
hormone is a “communication device”. In the form of a chemical
messenger that transports a signal via the bloodstream from one or more cells to
other cells in the organism, to affect a change in the receiving cells. Only a
small amount of hormone is required. Different hormones work together to
regulate many body functions, including:
✔ Mood / Stress response
✔ Tissue function
✔ Reproduction /Sexual function
✔ Growth and development
✔ Metabolism E.g.
Mineral metabolism
Hormones must be inbalance
When your hormones are in balance you
will:
✔ Sleep well
✔ Have energy in abundance
✔ Have a strong sex drive
✔ Have an efficiently functioning immune and digestive
system
Conversely, when your hormones
become imbalanced, a number of symptoms
can present, including:
✔ Adrenal fatigue
✔ Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism
✔ Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
Most hormone imbalances develop over time as a
consequence of lifestyle patterns. Only a few imbalances result
from endocrine organ malfunctions.
– Chronic stress resulting
in CORTISOL imbalance is often the culprit. Not only is CORTISOL the primary
hormone for responding to stress, it is also primarily involved in helping your
body convert food into energy, normalize blood sugar and maintain your immune
system's inflammatory response. Unbalanced CORTISOL also deregulates female
hormones. Thus, for example, hormonal symptoms experienced by women before,
during and after menopause are largely avoidable by attending to lifestyle
choices that affect stress on the body.
– The response to stress
that will interfere with hormonal balance is triggered by emotional, dietary or
painful/inflammatory events. For example, work
stress, financial worries, relationship problems, poor diet (e.g. too muchsugar, refined carbs, processed food and
damaged fats, not enough good fats,
antioxidants and water), exposure to toxins.
Correcting a hormone imbalance requires an
holistic, lifestyle approach before hormone replacement:
Having addressed the above issues, you could now
consider some specific bio-identical hormone therapies
The Endocrine Glands
Endocrine tissues or glands contain specialized
cells that synthesize, store, and release hormones directly into the bloodstream.
In contrast to exocrine organs that secrete their substances into
ducts. However, there are a few exocrine organs that also have endocrine gland
function, secreting hormones directly into the blood stream.
E.g. the pancreas, kidneys, liver
The endocrine glands are central to regulating
and normalizing all the body's interconnected systems. Of great
significance, is a small gland in the brain, called the hypothalamus, which is
the link between the endocrine and nervous systems.
– THE BRAIN sends messages to the
hypothalamus . . .
– THE HYPOTHALAMUS then sends messages to the
nearby pituitary gland (by secreting, so called,
Releasing Hormones . . .
– THE PITUITARY
then produces hormones that stimulate
Target Glands . . .
– TARGET GLANDS
then secrete their own hormones
A number of glands that signal each
other in sequence are often referred to as an
axis. E.g. the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
Hormone-producing cells produce one of three
types of hormones:
– Amines (water-soluble, produced from amino acids) -
for example:
✔ Catecholamines -
produced by sympathetic nervous system activation, they include EPINEPHRINE
(ADRENALINE), NOREPINEPHRINE and DOPAMINE, controlling autonomic arousal,
fight-or-flight stress response, and reward response.
Increases blood glucose,
increases reabsorption of Na+ and excretion of K+
Sex steroids (E.g.
TESTOSTERONE,Estrogen,PROGESTERONE ,
DHT
Pancreas
(alpha cells)
GLUCAGON
Liver
Increases
blood glucose
Pancreas
(beta cells)
INSULIN
Liver, muscles, fat
Lowers blood sugar
levels; stimulates
glucose,
protein, and fat metabolism;
Placenta
HUMAN CHORIONIC GONADOTROPIN (hCG)
Promote corpus luteum
maintenance at beginning of pregnancy; Inhibit immune response
towards embryo;
CORTICOTROPIN-RELEASING HORMONE (CRH)
Determines
length of gestation and timing of childbirth, when blood levels
increase rapidly.
HUMAN PLACENTAL LACTOGEN (HPL)
INHIBIN (fetal trophoblasts)
RELAXIN
Estrogen(Mainly ESTRIOL)
PROGESTERONE
Increase INSULIN
and IGF-1 production
Suppress FSH
Similar to ovarian follicle estrogen
Supports pregnancy
Ovaries
(in females)
Estrogen(Mainly
ESTRADIOL)
Uterus,
general
PROGESTERONE
Uterus, +
TESTOSTERONE (~1/7 of men)
ACTIVIN
Enhances
biosynthesis/secretion of pituitary FSH
INHIBIN
Down-regulates biosynthesis/ Inhibits secretion of pituitary FSH
RELAXIN
Produced
by corpus luteum, believed to
soften pubic symphysis
Testes
(in males)
Estrogen
ANDROSTENEDIONE
TESTOSTERONE
Testes,
general
Testicle
development. Sperm Growth and maturation; Growth of Penis;
Stimulates prepubescent facial / body hair growth and voice
deepening and aids development of thick masculine muscles.
DHT
A
metabolite of
TESTOSTERONE , the
more potent DHT has an essential
role in formation of male embryo's external genitals, in the adult
DHT acts as the primary
androgen in the prostate and hair
follicles (including women);
DHT has significant roles in development of male secondary
characteristics, also has role in prostate enlargement (BPH) /
cancer;
PROGESTERONE
RELAXIN
Enhances
sperm mobility
Adipose Tissue
LEPTIN
(protein hormone)
Strong
appetite suppressant, increases metabolism
ADIPONECTIN, RESISTIN
Hair Follicles
DHT
Prostate gland
DHT
Exocrine organ hormones
Some exocrine organs contain an endocrine gland
portion and a duct portio
– Endocrine gland portion
secretes hormones directly into the blood stream- E.g. the pancreas secretes the hormones INSULIN, GLUCAGONs and
somatostatin; the liver secretes INSULIN-like growth factor hormones IGF-1 and
IGF-2;
– Duct portion secretes substances via ducts that lead into the bodily environment
external to the gland -E.g.
the pancreas secretes
pancreatic juice to aid digestion; salivary glands secrete saliva. The mammary
glands produce milk, but no hormones.
Examples of Endocrine Organs that secrete hormones
Organ
Secreted
Hormones
(or Hormone-like substances)
Stomach
GASTRIN, GHRELIN
Intestines
CCK, GIP, SECRETIN, MOTILIN,VIP, ENTEROGLUCAGON
Liver/other
IGF-1, IGF-2
Kidneys
RENIN, EPO, CALCITRIOL, PROSTAGLANDIN
Heart
NATRIURETIC PEPTIDE (ANP, BNP)
Skeleton
OSTEOCALCIN (acts as a hormone)
Pancreas
INSULIN,
GLUCAGON, SOMATOSTATIN
Salivary Gland
EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR (EGF)
Hormone Biology
Mode of travel
Hormones travel through the human body via blood
circulation
Another communication method in the body is the
Nervous System.
This system conducts electrically and so operates much faster, but does
not have the longer-lasting effect of hormones
Target Cells and hormonal effects
Target Cells respond to a hormone if they
contain the specific receptors for that hormone. The hormone
binds to the receptor (like a key in a lock) to give the cell instructions (the
activated response is called a signal transduction pathway) specific to the cell
type.
In "target" cells, hormones bind to specific receptor proteins:
(1) Inside the cell. E.g. most steroid hormones enter the cell to initiate a
slow process as they unite with either a receptor in the
cytoplasm or the nucleus to form a hormone/receptor complex that:
(a) Has a genomic effect.
Complex moves into the nucleus (if not already there), where it attaches
directly to special DNA binding sites and affects gene transcription of
hormone-responsive genes; an mRNA molecule is formed, which is transported to
the cytoplasm , where proteins are synthesized to mediate the effect of the
hormone. This cytoplasmic/nuclear interaction (classic pathway)
takes minutes or hours.
(b) Has a non-genomic effect.
Initiates a series of fast
reactions in the cytoplasm and does not affect gene transcription.E.g. Estrogen can: (i) Trigger nitric
oxide production, (ii) Flood the cell with calcium, or(iii) Initiate hormone release.
(2) On the cell surface. E.g
epinephrine, norepinephrine and peptide hormones (“First messengers”) bind to a
receptor on the membrane surface setting off a cascade of reactions, which
proliferate “Second messengers”inside the cell, which affect existing proteins
within the cell. Typically this process
is much faster than those that bind to internal receptors and influence creation
of new proteins (as in (1a) above)
Hormone Effects are complex
– Different receptors
within a cell can recognize the same hormone and trigger different actions
– Several cell types can
recognize the same hormone and trigger action in a number of different tissues.
Different tissue types may respond differently to the same
hormonal signal. E.g. INSULIN triggers a diverse range of physiological effects.
– Different hormones and their receptors can trigger the
same action
(by the same biochemical pathway)
Hormone Receptors determine the level of response to a hormone
– Hormone receptor locations
✔ Many hormone receptors
are embedded in the plasma membrane
(at the cell surface)
✔ Most hormone receptors
for steroid and thyroid hormones are in the cytoplasm inside the target cell. To bind to these receptors, the hormones must
cross the cell membrane forming a combined hormone-receptor complex.
– Amplification /Suppression
of hormone signal. A hormone-receptor complex formed in the cellular
cytoplasm then moves across the nuclear membrane into the cell nucleus, where it
amplifies or suppresses actions of certain genes affecting a cellular response
of protein synthesis in muscles and bones.
– Concentration of
Hormone-Receptor complexes dictate the level of response to a hormone.
These concentrations are determined by:
✔ Number of hormone
molecules. Available for complex
formation (Usually the key factor);
✔ Number of receptor
molecules. Available for complex formation;
✔ Binding affinity. Between hormone and receptor.
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