Abstract
Disorders involving the endocrine glands, their hormones, and the targets of the hormones may cover the full spectrum ranging from an incidentally found, insignificant abnormality that is clinically silent to a flagrant, life-threatening metabolic derangement. Some endocrine diseases, such as well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma, present as neoplastic growths that rarely are associated with evidence of endocrine dysfunction. However, most clinically relevant endocrine disorders are associated with overexpression or underexpression of hormone action. There is a great deal of phenotypic variability in the clinical manifestations of each of the endocrine disorders reflecting in part the severity of the derangement and the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms. Although most of the individual clinical endocrine syndromes have multiple pathophysiologic mechanisms, the qualitative manifestations of the disease states are similar owing to the relatively limited ways in which the body responds to too much or too little hormone action.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Jameson JL. Applications of molecular biology in endocrinology. In: DeGroot et al., eds. Endocrinology, 3rd ed. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders, 1995: 119.
Suggested Readings
Bell GI, Froguel P, Nishi S, et al. Mutations of the human glucokinase gene and diabetes mellitus. Trends Endocrinol Metab 1993; 4: 86.
Braunstein GD. Ectopic hormone production. In: Felig P, Baxter JD, Frohman LA, eds. Endocrinology and Metabolism, 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995: 1733.
Brent GA. The molecular basis of thyroid hormone action. N Engl J Med 1994; 331: 847.
Clapham DE. Why testicles are cool. Nature 1994; 371: 109.
Clark AJL, Weber A. Molecular insights into inherited ACTH resistance syndromes. Trends Endocrinol Metab 1994; 5: 209.
Garvey WT, Birnbaum MJ. Cellular insulin action and insulinresistance. Clin Endocrinol Metab 1993; 7: 785.
Haavisto A-M, Pettersson K, Bergendahl M, Virkamaki A, Huhtaniemi I. Occurrence and biological properties of a common genetic variant of luteinizing hormone. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1995; 80: 1257.
Haugen BR, Ridgway EC. Transcription factor Pit-1 and its clinical implications: From bench to bedside. Endocrinologist 1995; 5: 132.
Herman-Bonert V, Fagin JA. Molecular pathogenesis of pituitary tumors. Clin Endocrinol Metab 1995; 9: 203.
Knoers N VAM. Molecular characterization of nephrogenic dia- betes insipidus. Trends Endocrinol Metab 1994; 10: 422.
Kopp R, van Sande J, Parma J, et al. Brief report: Congenital hyperthyroidism caused by a mutation in the thyrotropinreceptor gene. N Engl J Med 1995; 332: 150.
Ludgate ME, Vassart G. The thyrotropin receptor as a model to illustrate receptor and receptor antibody diseases. Clin Endocrinol Metab 1995; 9: 95.
Schwindinger WF, Levine MA. McCune-Albright syndrome. Trends Endocrinol Metab 1993; 4: 238.
Shenker A, Laue L, Kosugi S, Merendine JJ, Minegishi T, Cutler GB. A constitutively activating mutation of the luteinizing hormone receptor in familial male precocious puberty. Nature 1993; 365: 652.
Smith EP, Boyd J, Frank GR et al. Estrogen resistance caused by a mutation in the estrogen-receptor gene in a man. N Engl J Med 1994; 331: 1056.
Sunthornthepvarakul T, Gottschalk ME, Hayashi Y, Refetoff S. Brief report: resistance to thyrotropin caused by mutations in the thyrotropin-receptor gene. N Engl J Med 1995; 332: 155.
Taylor SI, Cama A, Kadowaki H, Kadowaki T, Accili D. Mutations of the human isnulin receptor gene. Trends Endocrinol Metab 1990; 1: 134.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Braunstein, G.D. (1997). Endocrine Disease. In: Conn, P.M., Melmed, S. (eds) Endocrinology. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-641-6_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-641-6_16
Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-5137-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-641-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive