Endocrine gland in regulating hormone levels in the blood. The nervous system, acting through hypothalamic controls, can in certain cases override or modulate hormonal effects. Diseases of the endocrine glands are common, including conditions such as diabetes mellitus, thyroid disease, and obesity. Endocrine disease is characterized by irregulated hormone release (a productive pituitary adenoma), inappropriate response to signaling (hypothyroidism), lack of a gland (diabetes mellitus type 1, diminished erythropoiesis in chronic renal failure), or structural enlargement in a critical site such as the thyroid (toxic multinodular goitre). Hypofunction of endocrine glands can occur as a result of loss of reserve, hyposecretion, agenesis,
Multiple endocrine neoplasia mutation or hereditary transmission. The presence of two or more tumor types in a single patient does not automatically designate that individual as having MEN because there is a small statistical chance that development of two "sporadic" tumors that occur in one of the MEN syndromes could occur by chance. The term "multiple endocrine neoplasia" was introduced in 1968, but descriptions of the condition date back to 1903. Multiple endocrine neoplasia The term multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) encompasses several distinct syndromes featuring tumors of endocrine glands, each with its own characteristic pattern. In some cases, the tumors are malignant, in