News tagged with endocrinology
Lifestyle counseling reduces time to reach treatment goals for people with diabetes
Lifestyle counseling, practiced as part of routine care for people with diabetes, helps people more quickly lower blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol levels and keep them under control, according to a large, long-term ...
Jan 24, 2012 |
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New international research defends genome-wide association studies
(Medical Xpress) -- Since 2005, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified thousands of genes responsible for common human diseases.
Jan 13, 2012 |
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Enzyme boosts metabolism, prevents weight gain in mice
In a new study, scientists report that they substantially curbed weight gain, improved metabolism, and improved the efficacy of insulin in mice by engineering them to express a specific human enzyme in their fat tissue. Although ...
Nov 14, 2011 |
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Exenatide (Byetta) has rapid, powerful anti-inflammatory effect, study shows
Exenatide, a drug commonly prescribed to help patients with type 2 diabetes improve blood sugar control, also has a powerful and rapid anti-inflammatory effect, a University at Buffalo study has shown.
Nov 02, 2011 |
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Childhood diet lower in fat and higher in fiber may lower risk for chronic disease in adulthood
A recent study has found that a childhood behavioral intervention to lower dietary intake of total fat and saturated fat and increase consumption of foods that are good sources of dietary fiber resulted in significantly lower ...
Oct 27, 2011 |
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Study refutes testosterone as 'fountain of youth'
A new study of older Western Australian men has revealed that testosterone might not be the fountain of youth.
Oct 21, 2011 |
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BPA exposure in utero may increase predisposition to breast cancer
A recent study accepted for publication in Molecular Endocrinology, a journal of The Endocrine Society, found that perinatal exposure to environmentally relevant doses of bisphenol A (BPA) alters long-term hormone respon ...
Oct 03, 2011 |
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Oral steroids linked to severe vitamin D deficiency in nationwide study
People taking oral steroids are twice as likely as the general population to have severe vitamin D deficiency, according to a study of more than 31,000 children and adults by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine ...
Sep 29, 2011 |
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Scientists develop urine test for cancer
Scientists at the University of Birmingham have developed a ground-breaking technique that uses a urine test to help to diagnose adrenal cancer.
Sep 16, 2011 |
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Researchers eye newer, safer birth control method
Oregon Health & Science University researchers have uncovered a new contraceptive that is more focused, safer and, therefore, available for use among a larger population of women. The research took place at OHSU's Oregon ...
Sep 07, 2011 |
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UH researchers explore treatments for breast and colon cancers
University of Houston (UH) researchers have their sights set on developing possible treatments for breast and colon cancer.
Aug 22, 2011 |
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Gradual bone reduction seen in some pill users
Birth control pills may reduce a woman's bone density, according to a study published online July 13 in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism by Group Health Research Institute (GHRI) scientists. Impacts on bon ...
Jul 19, 2011 |
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No increase in commonest preventable cause of intellectual disability over 20 years
A new study that was prompted by recent reports of an increase in cases of congenital hypothyroidism in the United States, and aimed at assessing the incidence of this condition among Quebec newborns, suggests that the increase ...
Jul 19, 2011 |
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Scientists achieve breakthrough in growth hormone research
Researchers in the School of Biomedical Sciences at The University of Queensland (UQ) have made a ground-breaking discovery in the study of growth hormone.
Jun 17, 2011 |
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Hormone improves long-term recovery from stroke
Scientists at the Sahlgrenska Academy have discovered an explanation of how stroke patients can achieve better recovery. A hormone that is associated with the growth hormone system has proved to benefit recovery during the ...
May 16, 2011 |
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Endocrinology
Endocrinology (from Greek ἔνδον, endo, "within"; κρῑνω, krīnō, "to separate"; and -λογία, -logia) is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions called hormones, the integration of developmental events such as proliferation, growth, and differentiation (including histogenesis and organogenesis) and the coordination of metabolism, respiration, excretion, movement, reproduction, and sensory perception depend on chemical cues, substances synthesized and secreted by specialized cells.
Endocrinology is concerned with the study of the biosynthesis, storage, chemistry, and physiological function of hormones and with the cells of the endocrine glands and tissues that secrete them.
The endocrine system consists of several glands, all and in different parts of the body, that secrete hormones directly into the blood rather than into a duct system. Hormones have many different functions and modes of action; one hormone may have several effects on different target organs, and, conversely, one target organ may be affected by more than one hormone.
In the original 1902 definition by Bayliss and Starling (see below), they specified that, to be classified as a hormone, a chemical must be produced by an organ, be released (in small amounts) into the blood, and be transported by the blood to a distant organ to exert its specific function. This definition holds for most "classical" hormones, but there are also paracrine mechanisms (chemical communication between cells within a tissue or organ), autocrine signals (a chemical that acts on the same cell), and intracrine signals (a chemical that acts within the same cell). A neuroendocrine signal is a "classical" hormone that is released into the blood by a neurosecretory neuron (see article on neuroendocrinology).
Hormones act by binding to specific receptors in the target organ. As Baulieu notes, a receptor has at least two basic constituents:
Between these is a "transduction mechanism" in which hormone binding induces allosteric modification that, in turn, produces the appropriate response.
For more information about Endocrinology, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.