Endocrinology
Summary
Endocrinology is the study of the chemical messaging systems that govern growth, metabolism, reproduction and adaptation to stress. At its core are hormones—biochemical messengers released by ductless (endocrine) glands into the bloodstream or local extracellular fluid—that act on target cells bearing specific receptors. Hormones may be peptides, steroids or amino-acid derivatives and signal by endocrine, paracrine, autocrine or intracrine mechanisms. The secretion of most hormones is organised in rhythmic or pulsatile patterns and regulated by negative-feedback loops to maintain homeostasis. Major endocrine glands include the hypothalamus and pituitary, thyroid and parathyroids, adrenals, pancreas, gonads and the pineal. Together they coordinate glucose and lipid metabolism, blood-pressure control, electrolyte balance, bone turnover, reproductive function and responses to physical and psychological stress. Disruption of hormonal networks underlies common disorders—from diabetes mellitus and thyroid disease to osteoporosis, infertility and adrenal insufficiency—and has prompted the development of targeted diagnostics and therapeutics. Recent advances in molecular endocrinology, systems biology and imaging have deepened our understanding of hormone synthesis, receptor signalling, intracellular trafficking and gene regulation. At the population level, integration of epidemiology with endocrine research is informing preventive strategies and resource planning. As an interface with neuroscience, immunology and cardiovascular medicine, endocrinology remains central to both basic research and clinical practice, with far-reaching implications for global health.
Research from Nature Portfolio
A network meta-analysis compared seven growth-hormone supplementation protocols in women with poor ovarian response. Daily administration of 4–8 IU during the follicular phase outperformed other regimens by increasing retrieved and mature oocytes, enhancing endometrial thickness and reducing gonadotropin requirements. Subgroup analyses indicated greatest gains in clinical pregnancy rates among randomised and African cohorts. The study advocates routine adoption of this protocol while calling for further multi-arm trials to confirm long-term benefits.
Population-wide medical claims data from Austria (2013–2017) were analysed to refine incidence estimates of type 2 diabetes. When patients who intermittently discontinued treatment or monitoring (“erratic” group) were accounted for, crude incidence rates—initially rising—were shown to decline across all age and sex strata. Approximately one in three patients fell into the erratic group, which exhibited elevated mortality. These findings underscore the importance of adherence and surveillance definitions in accurate trend estimation.
Machine-learning algorithms were applied to dosimetric and patient data from head-and-neck cancer cohorts to predict radiation-induced hypothyroidism. Decision trees, support vector machines and random forests identified age, thyroid volume, mean dose, V50 and V60 as the five strongest predictors. A random-forest model achieved 82% accuracy and an area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curve of 0.83, highlighting the promise of ensemble learning for individualised risk stratification in radiotherapy planning.
Research from all publishers
In aged mouse models, growth hormone supplementation reduced oocyte aneuploidy and improved developmental competence by enhancing mitochondrial function and activating the JAK2–MAPK3/1 signalling pathway. These preclinical data elucidate mechanisms by which hormone therapy may ameliorate age-related infertility.
A large phase III randomised controlled trial in a general IVF population demonstrated that empiric adjuvant growth hormone therapy did not improve ovarian-stimulation parameters or reproductive outcomes, including implantation and live-birth rates. The study underscores the need to stratify patients to identify responders likely to benefit from supplementation.
Metabolomic profiling of human follicular fluid revealed that growth hormone co-treatment in women with diminished ovarian reserve altered key metabolites—upregulating antioxidants such as itaconic acid while downregulating S-adenosylmethionine. These shifts correlated with increased oocyte yield but raise considerations regarding potential imprinting effects.
Endocrinology publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in endocrinology across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Endocrine gland: An organ that secretes hormones directly into the blood or interstitial fluid rather than through a duct.
Hormone: A chemical messenger produced by endocrine cells that elicits specific effects on distant or local target cells bearing complementary receptors.
Negative feedback: A regulatory mechanism in which a rising level of hormone inhibits its further production or the secretion of upstream stimulating factors.
Paracrine signalling: Hormonal communication in which secreted factors diffuse locally and act on neighbouring cells.
Aneuploidy: The presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell, a common cause of age-related oocyte failure.
References
- Comparative efficacy of different growth hormone supplementation protocols in improving clinical outcomes in women with poor ovarian response undergoing assisted reproductive therapy: a network meta-analysis. Scientific Reports (2024).
- Trends in diabetes incidence in Austria 2013–2017. Scientific Reports (2023).
- Using machine learning algorithm to analyse the hypothyroidism complications caused by radiotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer. Scientific Reports (2023).
- Growth hormone reduces aneuploidy and improves oocytes quality by JAK2-MAPK3/1 pathway in aged mice. Journal of Translational Medicine (2023).
- Empirical use of growth hormone in IVF is useless: the largest randomized controlled trial. Human Reproduction (2024).
- The effect of growth hormone on the metabolome of follicular fluid in patients with diminished ovarian reserve. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (2023).
- Fundamentals of Endocrinology.
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
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