How do hormones affect our body?

How Do Hormones Affect Our Body?

Endocrinology studies hormone-producing glands such as the thyroid gland, pancreas, parathyroid glands, adrenal glands, pituitary gland, ovaries, testes, and their related diseases.

In a narrow sense, endocrinology is the study of hormonal disorders. However, over the past decades, it has become clear that the influence of the endocrine system on the body is much broader.

Every organ and function is controlled by hormones. They are secreted in one part of the body, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other parts, creating an integrated network that connects different parts of the body.

Hormones regulate and influence physiological processes such as growth, development, reproduction, sexual maturation, carbohydrate and fat metabolism, bone tissue turnover, stress response, thermoregulation, and more. Endocrine disorders often cause conditions such as arterial hypertension, infertility, and depression. Fat tissue is now recognized as the largest endocrine gland, and hormones produced in the gastrointestinal tract affect fat, carbohydrate, and energy metabolism. There is also an important connection between the endocrine and immune systems.

The symptoms caused by endocrine diseases are often very nonspecific:

General weakness, fatigue, weight gain or loss, menstrual cycle disturbances, changes in body hair coverage, hair loss, dry skin, excessive hair growth in women (hirsutism), acne, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, decreased concentration, mood changes, sweating, constipation, etc. Therefore, it is not always clear at first glance that a medical problem has an endocrine basis, and patients often go through a long and exhausting process before seeing an endocrinologist.

Various diagnostic methods are used in endocrinology for diagnosis and treatment, including blood tests, imaging methods (such as ultrasonography), tissue biopsy when needed, and surgical treatment if necessary.

Early diagnosis and timely treatment help prevent complications and significantly improve patients’ quality of life.

Which Endocrine Diseases Do We Treat at Our Clinic?

• Thyroid diseases (nodular and diffuse goiter, hyper- and hypothyroidism, autoimmune and inflammatory thyroid diseases, thyroid cancer)

• Diabetes mellitus

• Obesity and metabolic disorders

• Deficiency or excess of trace elements

• Parathyroid gland diseases

• Osteoporosis

• Hirsutism (excessive hair growth in women)

• Lipid metabolism disorders

• Acromegaly

• Cushing’s syndrome

• Prolactinoma

• Diabetes insipidus

• Primary hyperaldosteronism

• Addison’s disease

• Hypoglycemic states

• Pheochromocytoma, etc.