Endocrine System

The complex, highly integrative endocrine system regulates all aspects of somatic maintenance and reproduction and has been widely implicated as an important determinant of longevity in short-lived traditional model organisms of aging research. Genetic or experimental manipulation of hormone profiles in mice has been proven to definitively alter longevity. These hormonally induced lifespan extension mechanisms may not necessarily be relevant to humans and other long-lived organisms that naturally show successful slow aging.

This review focuses on research involving calorie restriction (CR) in humans and the resulting changes observed in endocrine and neuroendocrine systems. Special emphasis is given to the clinical science studies designed to investigate the effects of controlled, high-quality, energy-restricted diets on both biomarkers of longevity and on the development of chronic diseases of human aging. Prolonged CR has been shown to extend both the median and maximal lifespan in a variety of lower species such as yeast, worms, fish, rats and mice.

Aging is a natural process that involves a general decline in many physiological functions, resulting in loss of function and eventually death. Extensive research is being performed in order to elucidate the biology of aging, especially with the advent of newer molecular and genetic methodologies. The endocrine system plays a major role in orchestrating cellular interactions, metabolism, growth, and senescence. Thus, researchers traditionally used hormones as tools to induce and examine specific biological effects that are associated with aging.

Reduced signaling of insulin-like peptides increases the life-span of nematodes, flies, and rodents. In the nematode and the fly, secondary hormones downstream of insulin-like signaling appear to regulate aging. In mammals, the order in which the hormones act is unresolved because insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1, growth hormone, and thyroid hormones are interdependent. In all species examined to date, endocrine manipulations can slow aging without concurrent costs in reproduction, but with inevitable increases in stress resistance.

This review focuses on research involving calorie restriction (CR) in humans and the resulting changes observed in endocrine and neuroendocrine systems. Special emphasis is given to the clinical science studies designed to investigate the effects of controlled, high-quality, energy-restricted diets on both biomarkers of longevity and on the development of chronic diseases of human aging. Prolonged CR has been shown to extend both the median and maximal lifespan in a variety of lower species such as yeast, worms, fish, rats and mice.

Background: The process of aging is associated with progressive remodeling. The age-dependent remodeling process mainly affects anthropometrics and endocrine function, which subsequently impact metabolic factors. In some individuals, e.g., the very select group of healthy centenarians, the remodeling process is successful.

OBJECTIVE: This article presents major concepts and research findings from the field of psychosomatic medicine that the authors believe should be taught to all medical students. METHOD: The authors asked senior scholars involved in psychosomatic medicine to summarize key findings in their respective fields.

Maternal perinatal mental health has enormous consequences for the well-being of the mother, her baby, and the family. Although it is well documented that perinatal depression is both common and morbid, with a prevalence of 10% to 15% in the general population, there remain many critically important unanswered questions about the pathogenesis of perinatal depression and most effective treatment regimens.

Love, attachment, and truth of human monogamy have become important research themes in neuroscience. After the introduction of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET), neuroscientists have demonstrated increased interest in the neurobiology and neurochemistry of emotions, including love and affection.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is used as a dietary supplement and can be metabolized to androgens and/or estrogens in the prostate. We investigated the hypothesis that DHEA metabolism may be increased in a reactive prostate stroma environment in the presence of proinflammatory cytokines such as transforming growth factor beta1 (TGFbeta1), and further, whether red clover extract, which contains a variety of compounds including isoflavones, can reverse this effect.