Functional Endocrinology: Blood-Brain Barrier and The Endocrine System

Do you feel:

• Hormone imbalances?
• Craving sweets during the day?
• Weight gain?
• Overall sense of bloating?
• Shaky, jittery, or have tremors throughout your body?

If you are experiencing any of these situations, then it might be your blood-brain barrier and your endocrine system that may be imbalanced.

The brain in the human body is the primary control system that makes sure that each of the body’s system is working correctly. This includes the gastrointestinal system, the hepatic system, the neurological system, and, most importantly, the endocrine system. In the brain, however, there is a tissue known as the blood-brain barrier, it is connected to the endocrine system. It is essential to make sure that the blood-brain barrier and the endocrine system are healthy in the human body.

The Blood-Brain Barrier

The blood-brain barrier in the body separates the central nervous system from peripheral tissue. Even though the blood-brain barrier separates the nervous system, it does not prevent hormones from entering the brain. Research shows that the brain can bind and secretes any circulating substances and can be qualified as an endocrine organ. When this happens, it can be one of the largest and most metabolically active of the endocrine organs by acting as both the target and secretor of hormones.

With the blood-brain barrier, it conveys the blood vessels by transporting the blood from the heart to every tissue and organs throughout the body. It then delivers oxygen and the nutrients to all the tissues and removing the carbon dioxide and metabolic waste from the tissues. The blood vessels also convey hormonal signals to the tissues and is a mediator for interacting with the peripheral immune system with each tissue. Research shows that since the blood-brain barrier is an endocrine tissue, the substances that are being carried in the blood can emerge in a hormone-like fashion. The research stated that the blood-brain barrier could exhibit the endocrine system properties as well as being a target for hormones that can affect many of the blood-brain functions in the body.

The Endocrine System

The endocrine system is a collection of glands that secretes out and produces hormones that can regulate not only the body but makes sure that it regulates the body’s metabolism and many other functions that the body needs to function correctly. When the body’s hormone levels fluctuate, it can be very good or horrible, depending on the situation. If the body produces an abundance of hormones, it can cause a person to have hyperthyroidism, and when the body produces a low abundance of hormones, the body can have complications and cause the body to develop chronic illnesses. Stress, infections, and diabetes can influence the body’s hormone levels by making hormones either too much or too little. By making sure that the body’s hormones are at a balanced level is essential because eating right and doing daily exercises can make the body function properly and feel good as well.

Since the body can produce hormones naturally, the job of the primary hormone is to make sure that it is traveling in the bloodstream and making it to the various organs and tissues that need the hormone levels. The hormone levels can tell every organ and tissues what to do and how to function. When the hormone levels get crazy by being produced too much or too little, it causes those organs and tissues to malfunction.

For the blood-brain barrier, since it is an endocrine tissue, it can divide the hormone receptors. The research found out that the blood-brain barrier can respond to circulate the hormone substances and secrete those hormone substances into the blood circulation and the central nervous system. It can also make sure that when the hormone receptors are being divided that it goes to the central nervous tissues and the peripheral tissues. The research also found out that insulin levels can also affect the brain’s endothelial cell function through several parameters and modulating amino acids, leptin, and p-glycoprotein transporters in the body.

Surprisingly there is a unique feature that the blood-brain barrier possesses. The blood-brain relies on its cell membrane surfaces facing into the bloodstream and the interstitial fluid of the central nervous system so that way it can receive signals for the body. The research found out that the blood-brain barrier’s properties are primarily manifested within the brain’s endothelial cells. They can be induced and maintained through critical interactions with the cells that are interacting in the neurovascular unit in the brain. With these endocrine-like mechanisms that the blood-brain barrier has, it can help dampen the effects of endocrine diseases like neurodegenerative conditions and Alzheimer’s disease.

Conclusion

The blood-brain barrier is an essential tissue in the brain as it functions as an endocrine tissue and does play a role by interacting with the hormone levels that the endocrine system secreted out to the body. When the hormone levels start to malfunction by either producing an abundance or too little amount of hormones, it can cause the body to have chronic illnesses and the blood-brain barrier to dysfunction in the brain, causing degenerative neurological disorders in the brain as well. Some products can help the endocrine system by making sure the hormone levels are balanced as well as products for a healthy brain function for a healthy body.

The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, and nervous health issues or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We use functional health protocols to treat injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We also make copies of supporting research studies available to the board and or the public upon request. To further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900.

References:

Banks, William A. “Brain Meets Body: the Blood-Brain Barrier as an Endocrine Interface.” Endocrinology, Endocrine Society, Sept. 2012, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3423627/.

Banks, William A. “The Blood-Brain Barrier as an Endocrine Tissue.” Nature Reviews. Endocrinology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Aug. 2019, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31127254.

Daneman, Richard, and Alexandre Prat. “The Blood-Brain Barrier.” Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 5 Jan. 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4292164/.

Zimmermann, Kim Ann. “Endocrine System: Facts, Functions and Diseases.” LiveScience, Purch, 18 Feb. 2018, www.livescience.com/26496-endocrine-system.html.

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