The world's first clinical trial comparing three alternative treatments for type 1 diabetes was conducted in Montréal by researchers at the IRCM and the University of Montreal, led by endocrinologist Dr. Rémi Rabasa-Lhoret. ...
Nov 26, 2014
0
0
A Cleveland Clinic-led study shows that a specific type of diabetes drug can decrease the risk of cancer in female patients with type 2 diabetes by up to 32 percent.
Dec 6, 2013
0
0
(HealthDay)—Diabetes patients who take drugs called sulfonylureas as an initial therapy have a higher risk of death than those who take the diabetes drug metformin, a new study says.
Sep 26, 2013
0
0
The use of electronic health records in clinical settings was associated with a decrease in emergency room visits and hospitalizations for patients with diabetes, according to a study published today in the Journal of the ...
Sep 10, 2013
0
0
Pharmacological activation of the receptor for glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) in conjunction with adjustable gastric banding (AGB) surgery may improve weight loss outcomes achieved with this procedure when compared to performing ...
Jun 20, 2013
0
0
(HealthDay)—People who have type 1 diabetes are more likely than others to develop an autoimmune thyroid condition.
Mar 15, 2013
0
0
(HealthDay)— Though it began as a treatment for something else entirely, gastric bypass surgery—which involves shrinking the stomach as a way to lose weight—has proven to be the latest and possibly most effective treatment ...
Jan 4, 2013
1
0
An Australian study reveals that people with the rare genetic disorder known as Prader-Willi Syndrome may have an impaired autonomic nervous system. This discovery opens up a new way of looking at the insatiable appetite ...
Nov 15, 2012
0
0
Whether your neighbourhood is conducive to walking could determine your risk for developing diabetes, according to a new study by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.
Sep 17, 2012
0
0
Older women with insufficient levels of Vitamin D gained more weight than those with sufficient levels of the vitamin, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health and published online in the Journal ...
Jun 25, 2012
0
0
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.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
