Why hormones rule your life – and how new research can help

Have you ever felt off-colour and explained it away as “oh, it’s just my hormones”?

Hormone fluctuations are linked with a whole range of health experiences.

But while hormone levels do naturally vary over time, significant disruption in hormones can be very serious, even deadly.

CALHN’s Dr Brigette Clarke and Clinical Associate Professor Sunita de Sousa are finding new solutions for patients who experience ill health related to hormones.

Their recent research focuses on two important hormone-producing organs: the adrenal glands (found on top of the kidneys, in the abdomen) and the pituitary gland (located in the brain).

Hormones are natural chemicals that coordinate biological functions such as growth, metabolism and sexual development.

Produced by glands, hormones travel via the bloodstream to act on many different types of tissues.

For example, adrenaline produced by the adrenal glands leads to the classic ‘fight or flight’ response, including increased heart rate and more efficient lung function.

Cortisol produced by the adrenal glands helps regulate your body’s response to stress.

Growth hormone produced by the pituitary gland results in growth of muscles and bone.

The field of medicine that focuses on hormones is known as endocrinology.

Dr Brigette Clarke is Endocrine Research Fellow at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital. A large portion of her work focuses on a condition called adrenal insufficiency.

“Adrenal insufficiency results from insufficient production of the normal adrenal hormones, particularly cortisol,” says Brigette.

Adrenal insufficiency is most commonly due to autoimmune disease or an inherited genetic condition.

“Adrenal insufficiency is fatal is left untreated, so patients are provided with medication to replace the affected adrenal hormones, including cortisol,” Brigette says.

“However, affected individuals have poorer health outcomes than the general population, and hormone replacement can be particularly challenging for patients to manage during illness and other stress.”

“The standard approach to treatment has remained largely unchanged over the last 70 years,” says Brigette.