The Endocrine System- it's very complicated!

The endocrine system is one of the body's main systems for communicating, controlling and coordinating the body's work. The foundations of the endocrine system are the hormones and glands. A gland is a group of cells that produces and secretes, or gives off, chemicals. "Hormone" means to "excite" or "spur on" and that's exactly what hormones do.

It works with the nervous system, reproductive system, kidneys, gut, liver, pancreas and fat to help maintain and control the following:

body energy levels
reproduction
growth and development
internal balance of body systems, called homeostasis
responses to surroundings, stress and injury

The endocrine system is instrumental in regulating mood, growth and development, tissue function, and metabolism, as well as sexual function and reproductive processes.

Endocrine-related Problems

Overproduction of a hormone
Underproduction of a hormone
Nonfunctional receptors that cause target cells to become insensitive to hormones

Types of Hormones

In order to regulate the myriad functions required for normal bodily function, the glands and organs that make up the endocrine system create many types of hormones, each with a specific function. Included in the different types of hormones your endocrine system produces are the following:

Vasopressin -- Created by the hypothalamus, vasopressin prompts the pituitary gland to release a hormone that helps maintain blood pressure and water and electrolyte balance.
Growth Hormone -- Growth hormone, or GH, is one of the types of hormones produced by the pituitary gland (one of the most important glands in the endocrine system); GH stimulates growth during childhood and also stimulates cell reproduction, which helps adults maintain muscle and bone mass.
Calcitonin -- Calcitonin, produced by the thyroid gland, aids in bone construction.
Insulin -- Insulin regulates glucose, or sugar intake, by helping it move from the blood into cells. It is one of the types of hormones produced by the pancreas.
Adrenaline -- Produced within the adrenal glands (small glands located at the top of each kidney), adrenaline works with noradrenaline to produce the "fight or flight" response by increasing the supply of oxygen to the brain and muscles, dilating the pupils, and suppressing bodily functions not useful in an emergency situation (such as digestion).
Noradrenaline -- Noradrenaline works with adrenaline to help the endocrine system produce the "flight or flight" response; in an emergency situation, it boosts the oxygen supply to the brain and the supply of glucose to the muscles.
Thyroid hormones: They regulate metabolism, therefore body temperature and weight. The thyroid hormones contain iodine, which the thyroid needs in order to manufacture these hormones.

Endocrine system disorders: A hormone imbalance, a situation in which there is too much or too little of a specific hormone, can result in a number of different endocrine system disorders, some more serious than others.

Diabetes: Diabetes is one of the more serious results of hormone imbalance in that, if it is left undiagnosed and/or untreated, it can result in blindness, heart disease, kidney failure, and death. Diabetes occurs when the pancreas either produces too little insulin or does not effectively use the insulin it does produce. Insulin is the hormone that helps the body process sugar in the bloodstream.
Precocious puberty: Body changes associated with puberty may occur at an abnormally young age in some kids if the pituitary hormones that stimulate the gonads to produce sex hormones rise prematurely. An injectable medication is available that can suppress the secretion of these pituitary hormones (known as gonadotropins) and arrest the progression of sexual development in most of these children.

Goiter: If a person lacks iodine in his/her diet, the thyroid cannot make the hormones, causing a deficiency. In response to the body's feedback loops calling for more thyroid hormones, the thyroid gland then enlarges to attempt to compensate (The body's plan here is if it's bigger it can make more, but that doesn't help if there isn't enough iodine.). To help alleviate this problem in our country, our government began a program encouraging salt refiners to add iodine to salt, and encouraging people to choose to consume this iodized salt.

Growth Disorders: Your pituitary gland, also referred to as the "Master Gland" of the endocrine system, produces growth hormone (GH) which, in the proper levels, stimulates and regulates growth throughout the body. A growth hormone imbalance can, in the event of too much growth hormone, cause gigantism in children and acromegaly in adults; a hormone imbalance in which the endocrine system produces too little GH can result in growth hormone deficiency (GHD), which can lead to stunted growth in children and symptoms such as decreased bone mass in adults. Growth disorders affect thousands of people each year. A person may be diagnosed as a child or as an adult. different types of growth disorders, many caused by imbalances in different types of hormone.
Adrenal insufficiency: This condition is characterized by decreased function of the adrenal cortex and the consequent underproduction of adrenal corticosteroid hormones. The symptoms of adrenal insufficiency may include weakness, fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea, dehydration, and skin changes. Doctors treat adrenal insufficiency by giving replacement corticosteroid hormones.
Hypothyroidism: Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the levels of thyroid hormones in the blood are abnormally low. Thyroid hormone deficiency slows body processes and may lead to fatigue, a slow heart rate, dry skin, weight gain, constipation, and, in kids, slowing of growth and delayed puberty. Hashimoto's thyroiditis, which results from an autoimmune process that damages the thyroid and blocks thyroid hormone production, is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in kids. Infants can also be born with an absent or underdeveloped thyroid gland, resulting in hypothyroidism. It can be treated with oral thyroid hormone replacement.
Hyperthyroidism: Hyperthyroidism is a condition in which the levels of thyroid hormones in the blood are excessively high. Symptoms may include weight loss, nervousness, tremors, excessive sweating, increased heart rate and blood pressure, protruding eyes, and a swelling in the neck from an enlarged thyroid gland (goiter). In kids the condition is usually caused by Graves' disease, an autoimmune disorder in which specific antibodies produced by the immune system stimulate the thyroid gland to become overactive. The disease may be controlled with medications or by removal or destruction of the thyroid gland through surgery or radiation treatments.

If you or your primary care physician suspects that you have an endocrine disorder, you may need a specialist called an endocrinologist. An endocrinologist is a specially trained doctor who diagnoses and treats endocrine system diseases, which are diseases that affect your glands and hormone levels.

(Sources: hormone.org, yucky.discovery.com, kidshealth.org, biology.clc.uc.edu, emc.maricopa.edu)