Individual Is Inflicted by Gigantism, It Is Essay

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individual is inflicted by gigantism, it is the endocrine system that is being affected. Because it is the endocrine system that regulates the secretion of hormones in the body, it directly affects just about every other system in our bodies. From the reproductive system to the digestive system, it is the hormones released by the endocrine system that make everything function the way it is supposed to.

The growth hormone has two main functions when it comes to regulating various bodily functions in adults. It has both direct and indirect effects. To begin with, growth hormone, which is part of the endocrine system, binds onto receptor cells on the body part that it will directly affect. For example, the growth hormone will bind onto the fat cells which have growth hormone receptors, in order to make them function and break down triglyceride and suppress their ability to take up and accumulate circulating lipids (Waters & Kaye, 2002). The growth hormone also has indirect functions in an adult body. These indirect effects are mediated primarily by an insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), a hormone that is secreted from the liver and other tissues as a response to growth hormone. This is actually what promotes the growth portion of this hormone because the IGF-I act on the target cells. Not only does growth hormone affect the growth in humans by stimulating the liver and other tissues to secrete IGF-I so that proliferation of cartilage cells results in bone growth and muscle growth, but it also has important effects on protein, lipid, and carbohydrate metabolism (Melmed et al., 2008).

Although this is a natural process that occurs automatically in the body, malfunctions could occur and cause an excess secretion of growth hormone. This growth hormone is modulated by many factors including stress, exercise, nutrition, sleep, and growth hormone itself, but its primary controllers are two hypothalamic hormones called growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) and somatostatin (SS) and one hormone from the stomach, ghrelin (Bellone et al., 2002).

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Excess secretion of growth hormone could be due to lesions in either the hypothalamus, the pituitary, or in target cells. The effect that the out of control secretion of growth hormone could have on the body depends greatly on the age on onset, and can be caused by either a heritable or acquired disease.

Growth hormone has an anti-insulin activity because it suppresses the abilities of insulin to stimulate the uptake of glucose in peripheral tissues and it enhances glucose synthesis in the liver (Camacho & Savage, 2001). This leads to an excess level of insulin going through the body which is actually the cause of Diabetes Type 2. Because growth hormone is involved in carbohydrate metabolism, it complicates the relationship it has with insulin. For example, someone with an excessive amount of growth hormone will lead to an uncontrollable amount of insulin. Growth hormone doesn't allow fat cells to absorb the insulin that it needs, which in a way could also be beneficial for those who are elderly and have diabetes. It reduces the amount of fat cells and therefore allows for a person's glucose level to be regulated. The metabolism of fat is affected by growth hormone because it gets broken down and therefore allows it to travel freely throughout the body. This is what complicates the interaction between growth hormone and insulin (Rosenfalck et al., 1999).

Unlike dwarfism, gigantism is pretty difficult to treat. Gigantism is caused by an overproduction of growth hormone during childhood, right before the bone caps are sealed. This leads to an abnormal increase in height and is very rarely reversible. Dwarfism on the other hand, is an under-production of growth hormone and can be treated easier than gigantism because artificial growth hormone could be introduced into the body and….....

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