A therapeutic approach focused on administering specific agents, such as secretagogues or releasing hormones, to encourage the body’s own endocrine glands to increase the natural, or endogenous, secretion of a target hormone. This strategy is preferred over direct hormone replacement in certain contexts as it maintains the integrity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-target gland feedback loop and promotes a more physiological release pattern. The goal is to gently optimize the body’s innate hormonal production capacity.
Origin
The concept stems from the discovery of hypothalamic and pituitary regulatory hormones, which control the downstream release of hormones from peripheral glands. Clinically, this became relevant with the development of compounds like Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone (GHRH) analogues, offering a more nuanced way to elevate hormone levels than administering the final hormone itself. This represents a sophisticated advancement in endocrine therapy.
Mechanism
Stimulating endogenous release typically involves administering a releasing factor that binds to specific receptors on the pituitary or other endocrine cells, triggering the natural secretory cascade. For example, sermorelin stimulates the pituitary to release growth hormone (GH) in a pulsatile, physiological manner. This mechanism leverages the body’s existing regulatory systems, which often helps to avoid the negative feedback and suppression associated with exogenous, non-pulsatile administration of the final hormone.
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