Hypothalamus: Function, hormones, and disorders - Medical ...

The hypothalamus is a small but important area in the center of the brain. It plays an important role in hormone production and helps to stimulate many ... MedicalNewsTodayHealthConditionsDiscoverToolsConnectSubscribeWhatdoesthehypothalamusdo?MedicallyreviewedbyDanielMurrell,M.D.—WrittenbyJonJohnsononAugust22,2018FunctionHormonesofthehypothalamusDisordersDiettipsforhypothalamushealthThehypothalamusisasmallbutimportantareainthecenterofthebrain.Itplaysanimportantroleinhormoneproductionandhelpstostimulatemanyimportantprocessesinthebodyandislocatedinthebrain,betweenthepituitaryglandandthalamus.Whenthehypothalamusisnotworkingproperly,itcancauseproblemsinthebodythatleadtoawiderangeofraredisorders.Maintaininghypothalamichealthisvitalbecauseofthis.FunctionShareonPinterestThehypothalamusisasmallbutessentialpartofthebrain.Thehypothalamus’mainroleistokeepthebodyinhomeostasisasmuchaspossible.Homeostasismeansahealthful,balancedbodilystate.Thebodyisalwaystryingtoachievethisbalance.Feelingsofhunger,forexample,arethebrain’swayoflettingitsownerknowthattheyneedmorenutrientstoachievehomeostasis.Thehypothalamusactsastheconnectorbetweentheendocrineandnervoussystemstoachievethis.Itplaysapartinmanyessentialfunctionsofthebodysuchas:bodytemperaturethirstappetiteandweightcontrolemotionssleepcyclessexdrivechildbirthbloodpressureandheartrateproductionofdigestivejuicesbalancingbodilyfluidsAsdifferentsystemsandpartsofthebodysendsignalstothebrain,theyalertthehypothalamustoanyunbalancedfactorsthatneedaddressing.Thehypothalamusthenrespondsbyreleasingtherighthormonesintothebloodstreamtobalancethebody.Oneexampleofthisistheremarkableabilityofahumanbeingtomaintainaninternaltemperatureof98.6°Fahrenheit(ºF).Ifthehypothalamusreceivesasignalthattheinternaltemperatureistoohigh,itwilltellthebodytosweat.Ifitreceivesthesignalthatthetemperatureistoocold,thebodywillcreateitsownheatbyshivering.HormonesofthehypothalamusTomaintainhomeostasis,thehypothalamusisresponsibleforcreatingorcontrollingmanyhormonesinthebody.Thehypothalamusworkswiththepituitarygland,whichmakesandsendsotherimportanthormonesaroundthebody.Together,thehypothalamusandpituitaryglandcontrolmanyoftheglandsthatproducehormonesofthebody,calledtheendocrinesystem.Thisincludestheadrenalcortex,gonads,andthyroid.Hormonessecretedbythehypothalamusinclude:antidiuretichormone,whichincreaseshowmuchwaterisabsorbedintothebloodbythekidneyscorticotropin-releasinghormone,whichhelpsregulatemetabolismandimmuneresponsebyworkingwiththepituitaryglandandadrenalglandtoreleasecertainsteroidsgonadotropin-releasinghormone,whichinstructsthepituitaryglandtoreleasemorehormonesthatkeepthesexualorgansworkingoxytocin,ahormoneinvolvedinseveralprocesses,includingthereleaseofamother’sbreastmilk,moderatingbodytemperature,andregulatingsleepcyclesprolactin-controllinghormones,whichtellthepituitaryglandtoeitherstartorstopbreastmilkproductioninlactatingmothersthyrotropin-releasinghormoneactivatesthethyroid,whichreleasesthehormonesthatregulatemetabolism,energylevels,anddevelopmentalgrowthThehypothalamusalsodirectlyinfluencesgrowthhormones.Itcommandsthepituitaryglandtoeitherincreaseordecreasetheirpresenceinthebody,whichisessentialforbothgrowingchildrenandfullydevelopedadults.DisordersShareonPinterestThepituitaryglandandhypothalamusareconnectedbyfunction.Itcanbedifficulttodistinguishadisorderashypothalamicorpituitary.Ahypothalamicdiseaseisanydisorderthatpreventsthehypothalamusfromfunctioningcorrectly.Thesediseasesareveryhardtopinpointanddiagnosebecausethehypothalamushasawiderangeofrolesintheendocrinesystem.Thehypothalamusalsoservesthevitalpurposeofsignalingthatthepituitaryglandshouldreleasehormonestotherestoftheendocrinesystem.Asitisdifficultfordoctorstodiagnoseaspecific,incorrectlyfunctioninggland,thesedisordersareoftencalledhypothalamic-pituitarydisorders.Inthesecases,therearesomehormoneteststhatdoctorsmightprescribetogettotherootofthedisorder.CausesandriskfactorsThemostcommoncausesofhypothalamicdiseasesareinjuriestotheheadthatimpactthehypothalamus.Surgeries,radiation,andtumorscanalsocausediseaseinthehypothalamus.Somehypothalamicdiseaseshaveageneticlinktohypothalamicdisease.Forinstance,Kallmansyndromecauseshypothalamicproblemsinchildren,mostnoticeablydelayedorabsentpuberty,accompaniedbyanimpairedsenseofsmell.HypothalamusproblemsalsoappeartohaveageneticlinkinPrader-WilliSyndrome.Thisisaconditioninwhichamissingchromosomeleadstoshortstatureandhypothalamicdysfunction.Additionalcausesofhypothalamicdiseasecaninclude:eatingdisorders,suchasbulimiaoranorexiageneticdisordersthatcauseexcessironbuildupinthebodymalnutritioninfectionsexcessivebleedingSymptomsofhypothalamusdisordersSymptomsofhypothalamusdisordersvarydependingonwhathormonesareinshortsupply.Childrenmightshowsignsofabnormalgrowthandabnormalpuberty.Adultsmightshowsymptomslinkedtothevarioushormonestheirbodiescannotproduce.Thereisusuallyatraceablelinkbetweentheabsenthormonesandthesymptomstheyproduceinthebody.Tumorsymptomsmightincludeblurredvision,lossofvision,andheadaches.Lowadrenalfunctionmightproducesymptomssuchasweaknessanddizziness.Symptomscausedbyanoveractivethyroidglandinclude:sensitivitytoheatanxietyfeelingirritablemoodswingstirednessanddifficultysleepinglackofsexdrivediarrheaconstantthirstitchinessDiettipsforhypothalamushealthAsthehypothalamusplayssuchavitalroleinthebody,itisveryimportanttokeepithealthy.Whileapersoncannotfullyavoidgeneticfactors,theycantakedietarystepstowardsidealhypothalamushealthonadailybasistoreducetheriskofhypothalamicdisease.Thehypothalamuscontrolstheappetite,andthefoodsinthedietinfluencethehypothalamus.Studieshaveshownthatdietshighinsaturatedfatscanalterthewaythehypothalamusregulateshungerandenergyexpenditure.Sourcesofsaturatedfatsincludelard,meat,anddairyproducts.Researchhasalsodemonstratedthatdietshighinsaturatedfatsmighthaveaninflammatoryeffectonthebody.Thiscanmaketheimmunesystemoveractive,increasingthechancesofittargetinghealthybodycells,increasinginflammationinthegut,andalteringthenaturalworkingofthebody.Dietshighinpolyunsaturatedfats,likeomega-3fattyacids,canhelptoreversethisinflammation.Thesefatsmightbeasafealternativetoothertypesofoilsandfats.Foodswithhighomega-3contentincludefish,walnuts,flaxseeds,andleafyvegetables.Additionalhealthydietarychoicestosupportthehypothalamusandbestbrainfunctioninclude:vitamin-richfruitsandvegetablesvitaminCB-vitaminsAworkinghypothalamusisoneofthemostimportantpartsofthebody,anditusuallygoesunnoticeduntilitstopsworkingproperly.Followingthesedietarytipscanhelptokeepthehypothalamushappyandworkingwell.Q:Whyisthehypothalamussoimportant?A:Thehypothalamusistheendocrinesystem’smainswitchboard.Mostofthebody’scriticalhormones,whichpromotegrowth,metabolism,andnormalfunctioning,arepromptedbychemicalsignalsfromthehypothalamus.Thesehormones,inturn,communicatewiththehypothalamustoprovidefeedbackaboutthebody’sfunctionalstatus.Damagetothehypothalamuscanimpaironeorallofthesehormonesystemsandleadtodisastrousconsequences,causingthecompleteshutdownofhormoneproduction.DanielMurrell,MDAnswersrepresenttheopinionsofourmedicalexperts.Allcontentisstrictlyinformationalandshouldnotbeconsideredmedicaladvice.LastmedicallyreviewedonAugust22,2018EndocrinologyNeurology/NeuroscienceNutrition/Diet6sourcescollapsedMedicalNewsTodayhasstrictsourcingguidelinesanddrawsonlyfrompeer-reviewedstudies,academicresearchinstitutions,andmedicaljournalsandassociations.Weavoidusingtertiaryreferences.Welinkprimarysources—includingstudies,scientificreferences,andstatistics—withineacharticleandalsolistthemintheresourcessectionatthebottomofourarticles.Youcanlearnmoreabouthowweensureourcontentisaccurateandcurrentbyreadingoureditorialpolicy.Kallmannsyndrome.(2016,August30)https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/kallmann-syndromeMente,A.,DeKoning,L.,Shannon,H.S.,&Anand,S.S.(2009,April13).Asystematicreviewoftheevidencesupportingacausallinkbetweendietaryfactorsandcoronaryheartdisease. JAMAInternalMedicine,169(7),659-669http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1108492Myles,I.A.(2014,June17).Fastfoodfever:ReviewingtheimpactsoftheWesterndietonimmunity. NutritionJournal,13(61)https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-13-61Omega-3fattyacids:Anessentialcontribution.(n.d.)https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/omega-3-fats/Shaikh,M.G.(2011,July).Hypothalamicdysfunction(hypothalamicsyndromes). OxfordTextbookofEndocrinologyandDiabeteshttp://oxfordmedicine.com/view/10.1093/med/9780199235292.001.1/med-9780199235292-chapter-241Velloso,L.A.&Schwartz,M.W.(2011,March8).Alteredhypothalamicfunctionindiet-inducedobesity. InternationalJournalofObesity,35,1455-1465http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v35/n12/full/ijo201156a.html.%20http://medicine.yale.edu/lab/lombroso/column30_tcm773-185529_tcm773-284-32.pdfFEEDBACK:MedicallyreviewedbyDanielMurrell,M.D.—WrittenbyJonJohnsononAugust22,2018LatestnewsHepatitisoutbreakinchildren:600+casesworldwide,causeremainsamysteryInConversation:Canpsychedelicsrewireadepressed,anxiousbrain?ADHDinkids:EatingmorefruitandvegetablesmayreduceinattentionIntermittentfasting:Isitallit'scrackeduptobe?Cancerandahighfatdiet:What'sthelink?RelatedCoverageBrainstudyrevealswhysomepeoplefailtosticktotheirdietAnewstudyfindsthatgreatergraymattervolumeintworegionsofthebrainislinkedtogreaterabilitytoexerciseself-controlinfoodchoices.READMOREAllaboutthecentralnervoussystemMedicallyreviewedbySeungguHan,MDThecentralnervoussystemismadeupofthebrainandspinalcord.Itgathersinformationfromalloverthebodyandcoordinatesactivity.Weexplore…READMOREEverythingyouneedtoknowaboutthecerebellumMedicallyreviewedbyJ.KeithFisher,M.DThehumanbrainisahugelycomplexorgan,madeofdifferentareasthathandledifferentfunctions.Thecerebellumisthepartthathandlesmany…READMORE