#endocrine system

My favorite animation of the breathing apparatus.

Explaining why GLP-1 drugs improve health without weight loss defies simple narratives and confounds researchers. I’ve never come across another medical story in which scientists repeatedly apologize for how bewildering their results appear to be. For each one of the effects they dig into, they come to different explanations for how the drugs help. In some cases, GLP-1s seem to target the organs involved in diseases directly, making them healthier. In other cases, the drugs help the body handle blood sugar and fat, making people “more metabolically flexible” and “biochemically more youthful,” said Dr. DiMarchi.

One of the most mysterious and fascinating ways they work is through reducing inflammation. Inflammation is part of the body’s natural response to injury and infection. It can signal healing, but it can also be present and harmful in the context of chronic disease. Dr. Drucker’s lab at the University of Toronto has pivoted from studying chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity to unraveling the immune system effects of GLP-1s. “We realized very quickly one underlying theme of all these was inflammation,” he said, of the diseases.

Before GLP-1s, medicines that targeted inflammation — like steroids — worked by shutting it down, suppressing the immune system and making patients more vulnerable to infections and cancer. The effects of GLP-1s appear to be more subtle. Researchers told me they believe the drugs “dampen” or “fine-tune” the immune response, without the “sledgehammer” effect of steroids. One called this a new frontier in medicine.

Dr. Drucker has found that the cells in the gut that produce GLP-1 seem to detect pathogens, releasing the hormone as part of the body’s response to injury or infection. The drugs may harness that effect. But even the anti-inflammatory narrative of how GLP-1 drugs work is complicated, depending on the type and location of inflammation involved. “We should not assume, as many do, that there is one simple way the drugs lower inflammation in all organs and conditions,” Dr. Drucker said.

He actually listened and is looking into whats happening

hyper- = above, more than normal

insulino- = insulin

-ism = disease from a specific cause

hypo- = below, deficient

glyco- = glucose, sugar

-emia = condition of the blood

resisto- = withstand the effect of

-ance = state

diabeto- = diabetes

-ic = pertaining to

glycoso- = glucose, sugar

uro- = urinary system, urine

-ia = condition, state, thing

poly- = many, much

dipso- = thirst

phago- = eating, swallowing

keto- = ketones

acido- = acid, low pH

-osis = condition, process

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"thyroid hormone is the hormone that controls your body's metabolism-" not well.

"the pancreas secretes insulin-" actually this needle does tf you mean.

She said I could either go to the guy who owns the place-- who is an autistic dude with a special interest in intersex conditions & gene mutations (he's genuinely pioneering research in this stuff), but the issue with that is he's DPC so I'd have to have a stable income, because he doesn't take insurance... (I don't have a stable income and haven't in years. Maybe when I turn 26 and lose my insurance I'll consider this, because $100 per appointment is still a lot cheaper than most doctors charge without insurance, but I still have insurance, still don't have a job, and I know my family won't be thrilled about paying $100 every month -- Or more if I'm including bloodwork.)

Or... I could go to an endo and ask about more extensive testing there. Nervous to actually go to an endo, though, because I feel like they'll get pissy and throw a fit about me being on T & try to get me on birth control again... Which I absolutely DO NOT WANT in any case- It made me feel fucking awful in every way, fuck birth control!!! And I refuse to stop T (if I have a choice, anyway, seeing the direction that our piece of shit, garbage country is heading... I'll just go back to being on no hormones at all if I get T taken from me.)

Whatever I have, it's mild, but obviously it's SOMETHING. She did note that some of my hormone levels were a little low, too, like my DHEA, but it is all too mild to definitively make a diagnosis without additional testing. So it's like, could be some form of NCAH? But she's not trained enough in this to say, and she only really discusses things with the DPC Dr if a patients levels are genuinely concerning. We just ruled out classical CAH, is all, which I honestly already knew.

The Human Body

It comprises living cells and extracellular materials, organized into tissues, organs, and systems.

It is primarily composed of water and organic compounds, lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids.

Water, making up about 60% (varies by age) of body weight, is crucial for life's chemical processes, found in both extracellular fluids and within cells, serving as a vital solvent.

The skin and related structures form the integumentary system, safeguarding the body from harmful invaders and chemicals while also preventing water loss.

Comprising skeletal muscles and bones (about 206 in adults), the musculoskeletal system facilitates body movement and shields internal organs.

Incorporating breathing passages, lungs, and respiratory muscles, the respiratory system acquires vital oxygen from the air for cellular metabolism and expels waste carbon dioxide.

The circulatory system, comprising the heart, blood, and vessels, circulates fluid throughout the body, furnishing cells with oxygen and nutrients while removing waste like carbon dioxide and toxic compounds.

The digestive system comprises the mouth, esophagus, stomach, and intestines, breaks down food into usable nutrients, absorbing them into the bloodstream, and eliminates the remaining waste as feces.

Consisting of kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra, the excretory system filters toxins and waste from the blood for elimination.

The nervous system formed by sensory organs, brain, spinal cord, and nerves transmits sensory data, integrates it, and triggers appropriate muscular or glandular responses.

Composed of hormone-secreting glands and tissues, the endocrine system coordinates body processes via a chemical communication network.

The reproductive system, encompassing male or female sex organs, plays a crucial role in facilitating reproduction.

In males, this system includes structures such as the testes, which produce sperm, and in females, it comprises the ovaries, which produce eggs.