Pituitray disease is progressive and often fatal if not detected

It is not uncommon for a woman to damage or destroy their pituitary during pregnancy. One of the reasons is that the pituitary increases its size by one-third during pregnancy. The pituitary sits behind the nose in a a bony carapace called the sella.

If an empty sella condition is identified during an MRI of your brain, your are missing your pituitary, which can be a serous and often fatal disease.

Sometimes the pituitary stalk will take over for the pituitary and you may be only deficient in just one pituitary hormone. Pituitary disease iS progressive. It may take may years for the endocrine system to fail.

When you are in the process of losing the entire endocrine system, the term panhypopituitarism is used

First to go is the growth hormone (GH), next the gonadotropins (LH and FSH) which control sexual/reproductive functions, followed by thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) which controls thyroid hormone release, and finally the Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) which controls adrenal function.

If you have low LH and FSH you may also lose your sense of smell and taste.

Most endocrinologists (endo) will look for hypothyroidism first because there is really no replacement therapy for LH and FSH. Often the blood tests for thyroid simulating hormone (TSH) are inconclusive even after months of testing. An endo may give you a small dose levothyroxine to see if your feel better. People who are hypothyroid may be sensitive to cold and have a low pulse (bradycardia). Most people with thyroid conditions do not feel well at all.

Adrenal insufficiency is dangerous because you need cortisol in your system to survive. If cortisol get too low you may vomit, feel like your are spinning in a room and have and adrenal episode or crises. The latter results in death about 20 per cent of the time,

Adrenal insufficiency is not easy to test for. An endo has to inject an ACTH stimulator and monitor the response of the adrenal glands.

A damaged or missing pituitary may also result in diabetes insipidus a disease that is not related to diabetes mellitus I or II. In this case you wil constantly drink water and urinate every hour because you are missing the anitdiuretic hormone (ADH) that is actually produced in the hypothalamus.

The hypothalamus has a connection to the pituitary, providing a junction between the nervous system and the endocrine system,

If you are diagnosed with hypopituitarism or panhypopituitarism, it is important to have your GH tested, An endo can test your insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) level. If it is too low you need to be put on a somatropin or a growth hormone regimen.

This is important because people with pituitary disease have shortened life spans. Daily Somatropin injections have many benefits, but extending your life is the most important.

sources:

https://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/growth-hormone/tab/test/

http://www.pathguy.com/lectures/pituitar.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_hormone

http://www.medkorat.in.th/admin/ckfinder/userfiles/files/panhypopituitarism.pdf

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WIN: Coffee may have life extending properties

Coffee may extend your life

That coffee habit of yours just may help you live longer. Jesse Russell explains.

Did you remember to drink your cup of life extending liquid this morning? A newly released study from the AARP and the National Institute of Health has found that the black gold workers slug down each day MIGHT have life extending properties.

After analyzing data collected from 400,000 people who were studied for one decade it was learned that one cup of coffee per day reduces the chance a woman will die by five percent and that a man will die by six percent.

Perhaps the most startling data released in the study is that women who consume more than four cups of coffee a day on average extend their life bar by 16 percent.

The study didn’t find any definitive results as to why coffee drinkers appear to live longer than non-drinkers.

The study also found that coffee drinkers had a lower chance of dying from heart or respiratory disease, stroke, and diabetes – as well as death from accidents or injury. However, there was no difference when it came to cancer rates.

How coffee works

Rightardia knows that coffee affects the pituitary, the master gland of the endocrine system, and causes it to release hormones.

Coffee contains methylxanthines. These alkaloids can increase cognitive abilities, improve energy, enhance well-being, and increase arousal and alertness.

Serotonin is involved in mood and appetite regulation; gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) typically inhibits neuronal activity to cause relaxation and sleep; and acetylcholine is involved in muscle contraction.

Caffeine intake has been shown to increase the receptors of serotonin (26-30% increase), GABA (65% increase), and acetylcholine (40-50%).

This may elevate mood and increase the feeling of energy after a coffee. Caffeine inhibits the release of GABA, which contributes to our feeling of alertness.

The adrenal glands secrete  hormones such as epinephrine,norepinephrine, dopamine and cortisol.

Epinephrine, or adrenaline, increases respiration rate, heart rate and blood pressure; while cortisol frees up stored glucose. Glucose is needed in greater amounts during times of perceived stress.

Studies in humans have shown that caffeine increases cortisol and epinephrine at rest. The levels of cortisol after caffeine consumption are similar to those experienced during an acute stress.

Drinking coffee, in other words, mimics the body's response to stress conditions.

Precison Nutrition has an excellent article on how coffee affects the endocrine system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis: see http://www.precisionnutrition.com/coffee-and-hormones

source: Workers Independent News

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Rightardia by Rightard Whitey of Rightardia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at rightardia@gmail.com.