New Treatments In Endocrine Disorders

Endocrinology is the study of hormones and the treatment of hormone based diseases. The endocrine glands produce chemicals called hormones. These hormones are released into the blood stream and exert their action by stimulating other organs in the body. The major endocrine glands are the thyroid, pancreas, parathyroid, adrenal, gonad and pituitary. The hormones from these glands regulate growth, metabolism, blood pressure, reproduction as well as many other necessary functions. Advances in genetic engineering will make possible treatment of many pediatric endocrine disorders with replacement therapy. Some of these conditions include short stature, precocious puberty, and diabetes mellitus. Although the availability of such hormonal replacement offers new treatment modalities, an understanding of their mechanism of action and pharmacologic characteristics is crucial to maximize their effectiveness while minimizing possible untoward effects. The clinician must evaluate potential risks and benefits as these substances come to market without definitive answers being available as to their long-term effects. Patients with chronic pancreatitis have the option of having an auto — meaning "self" — islet transplant after a total pancreatectomy, which is the removal of the entire pancreas. During an islet autotransplant, the patient's own islet cells are isolated from the removed pancreas. They are then put back into the patient, where they start producing insulin. The islet auto-transplant technique is a modification of an islet transplant procedure used to manage severe insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetes, in which islets are isolated from a deceased donor pancreas. In chronic pancreatitis, the patient’s own islets are used, eliminating the risk of tissue rejection. UCSF is the only institution west of the Mississippi to offer islet auto-transplantation as a way to minimize diabetes after pancreatectomy. Pancreatectomy patients who have an islet autotransplant have a 50 percent chance of becoming insulin dependent for life rather than a 100 percent chance without the islet autotransplant

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Last date updated on April, 2024