Signs and symptoms of a malfunctioning hypothalamus (hypothalamic dysfunction) usually develop due to various reasons. Hypothalamic dysfunction may cause the following problems:
- Too little or too much growth in children
- Early or late puberty
- Headache
- Loss of vision
If the malfunctioning hypothalamus affects the thyroid, the affected person can get underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism). Symptoms may include:
- Feeling cold all the time
- Weight gain
- Dry skin
- Constipation
- Hair loss
- Depression
If the malfunctioning hypothalamus affects the adrenal glands, symptoms that develop may include:
- Poor appetite
- Fatigue
- Weakness
- Weight loss
- Susceptibility to infections
What is the function of the hypothalamus?
The hypothalamus helps in maintaining the coordination between various systems of the body. Its function includes regulation of various factors:
- Growth
- Weight
- Body temperature
- Appetite
- Salt and water balance
- Sex drive
- Childbirth
- Production of breast milk
- Sleep–wake cycle
- Memory
- Emotions
- Behavior
Another important function of the hypothalamus is to control the pituitary gland, which lies below the hypothalamus. The pituitary gland is an important organ that controls organs such as the adrenal glands, thyroid gland, ovaries, and testes.
What causes malfunctioning of the hypothalamus?
Various conditions can cause the hypothalamus to malfunction. These include:
- Brain surgery
- Brain injury
- Brain tumors
- Cancer therapy (radiation/radiotherapy and chemotherapy)
- Anorexia nervosa (nutritional deficiencies in eating disorders)
- Infections such as tuberculosis
- Brain aneurysm (bulging of blood vessels)
- Genetic disorders (Prader-Willi syndrome, Kallmann syndrome, and familial diabetes insipidus)
- Inflammatory disease (paraneoplastic syndrome and neurosarcoidosis)
How is a malfunctioning hypothalamus diagnosed?
To diagnose if the hypothalamus is malfunctioning, laboratory tests are done that examine the patient’s blood and urine for hormones:
- Cortisol
- Estrogen
- Pituitary hormones
- Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH])
- Growth hormone (GH)
- Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)
- Luteinizing hormone (LH)
- Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)
- Prolactin
- Testosterone
- Thyroid hormones
- Sodium levels
Other diagnostic tests include:
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Computed tomographic (CT) scan
- Visual field tests (in case of a tumor)
- Genetic tests
QUESTION
What percentage of the human body is water? See AnswerHow is a malfunctioning hypothalamus treated?
Treatment depends on the cause of the malfunctioning hypothalamus and the patient's presenting signs and symptoms.
- Hormonal deficiencies: Hormone replacement therapy (replacing the missing hormones with manmade hormonal pills, for example, levothyroxine tablets for hypothyroidism)
- Tumors: Surgery or radiation
- Nutritional deficiency: Nutritional counseling and medications that control the patient’s appetite
- Kallmann syndrome: Lifelong sex hormone replacement therapy
What are the complications of a malfunctioning hypothalamus?
Hormonal deficiencies due to a malfunctioning hypothalamus can cause complications such as:
- Growth problems (short stature)
- Heart problems
- Obesity and faulty eating habits
- Low blood pressure
- Disturbances in the water and salt levels in the body
- Inability to deal with stress (such as during surgery or infection)
- Osteoporosis (thin or fragile bones)
- Erection problems
- Infertility
- Difficulty during labor
- Breastfeeding problems
- A decrease in sex response
- Early or late puberty
- Mood disorders
- Sleep disorders
If the cause of a malfunctioning hypothalamus is a brain tumor, the complications can be as follows:
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Common Medical Abbreviations & Terms
Doctors, pharmacists, and other health-care professionals use abbreviations, acronyms, and other terminology for instructions and information in regard to a patient's health condition, prescription drugs they are to take, or medical procedures that have been ordered. There is no approved this list of common medical abbreviations, acronyms, and terminology used by doctors and other health- care professionals. You can use this list of medical abbreviations and acronyms written by our doctors the next time you can't understand what is on your prescription package, blood test results, or medical procedure orders. Examples include:
- ANED: Alive no evidence of disease. The patient arrived in the ER alive with no evidence of disease.
- ARF: Acute renal (kidney) failure
- cap: Capsule.
- CPAP: Continuous positive airway pressure. A treatment for sleep apnea.
- DJD: Degenerative joint disease. Another term for osteoarthritis.
- DM: Diabetes mellitus. Type 1 and type 2 diabetes
- HA: Headache
- IBD: Inflammatory bowel disease. A name for two disorders of the gastrointestinal (BI) tract, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis
- JT: Joint
- N/V: Nausea or vomiting.
- p.o.: By mouth. From the Latin terminology per os.
- q.i.d.: Four times daily. As in taking a medicine four times daily.
- RA: Rheumatoid arthritis
- SOB: Shortness of breath.
- T: Temperature. Temperature is recorded as part of the physical examination. It is one of the "vital signs."
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Puberty
The time when boys and girls begin the process of sexual maturation is called puberty. During this time, both sexes undergo a series of biological changes that include a rapid increase in height, bone growth, weight increase, the growth of pubic hair, breast development, and the onset of menstruation in girls, and testicle, penis, and muscle enlargement in boys.
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Puberty is the time in a child’s life when sexual maturation occurs. There are several stages of puberty. A child goes through many physical and internal changes during the various stages of puberty, beginning around the age of 8 years in girls and 10 years in boys, till the age of 18 years when they attain complete maturation.
What Happens If the Hypothalamus Is Damaged?
Hypothalamus is the head of all endocrine glands. It coordinates the functions of all endocrine glands in the body. The endocrine glands secrete their hormones (chemical messengers) directly into the blood. The hypothalamus controls a variety of body functions and hormones.What Is the Role of the Hypothalamus?
The hypothalamus is a part of the midbrain. An important function of the hypothalamus is to link the nervous system to the endocrine (hormonal) system through the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus is considered the regulator of all hormonal functions in the body.