Pancreatic Endocrine Hormones and Their Purpose
Insulin
- Purpose – Regulate blood glucose (sugar) in the normal range (lots more about this).
- Action – Forces many cells of the body to absorb and use glucose thereby decreasing blood sugar levels.
- Secreted in response to high blood glucose.
- Secretion inhibited by low blood glucose.
- Disease due to deficient action diabetes (large section of Endocrine Web is devoted to Diabetes).
- Disease due to excess action hypoglycemia.
- Tumor called Insulinoma.
- Purpose – Assist insulin in regulating blood glucose (sugar) in the normal range.
- Action – Forces many cells of the body to release (or produce) glucose (increasing blood sugar).
- Secreted in response to low blood glucose.
- Secretion inhibited by high blood glucose.
- Disease due to deficient action some times nothing, sometimes hypoglycemia.
- Disease due to excess action hyperglycemia.
- Tumor called glucagonoma (new page about this soon).
- Purpose – Regulate the production and excretion of other endocrine tumors.
- Action – Slows down production of insulin, glucagon, gastrin, and other endocrine tumors.
- Secreted in response to high levels of other endocrine hormones.
- Secretion inhibited by low levels of other endocrine hormones.
- Disease due to deficient action poorly defined.
- Disease due to excess action diabetes (inhibits insulin production), gallstones, and dietary fat intolerance.
- Tumor called somatostatinoma (new page about this soon).
- Purpose – Assist in digestion within the stomach.
- Action – Induce acid producing cells of the stomach to produce acid.
- Secreted in response to food in the stomach and intestines.
- Secretion inhibited by absence of food in stomach and intestines.
- Disease due to deficient action poorly defined, some times no symptoms at all.
- Disease due to excess action stomach ulcers due to excess stomach acid.
- Tumor called gastrinoma (also called Zollinger Ellison Syndrome) (new page about this soon).
- Purpose – Help control water secretion and absorption from the intestines.
- Action – Causes intestinal sells to secrete water and salts into the intestines (inhibit absorption).
- Secreted in response to unclear.
- Secretion inhibited by unclear.
- Disease due to deficient action – No symptoms at all.
- Disease due to excess action – Severe watery diarrhea and salt (potassium) imbalances.