Multiple Organ Failure as an Endocrine-Mediated Response to Chronic Stress via the HypothalamoPituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis
Introduction
Homeostasis is a concept central to the idea of stress. In biology, most biochemical processes strive to maintain equilibrium (homeostasis), a steady state that exists more as an ideal and less as an achievable condition. Environmental factors, internal or external stimuli, continually disrupt homeostasis; an organism’s present condition is a state of constant flux moving about a homeostatic point that is that organism’s optimal condition for living. Factors causing an organism’s condition to diverge too far from homeostasis can be experienced as stress. A life-threatening situation such as a major physical trauma or prolonged starvation can greatly disrupt homeostasis. On the other hand, an organism’s attempt at restoring conditions back to or near homeostasis, often consuming energy and natural resources, can also be interpreted as stress. In such instances, an organism’s fight-or-flight response recruits the body's energy stores and focuses attention to overcome the challenge at hand.
Physiological or biological stress is an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition or a stimulus. Stress is a body's method of reacting to a challenge. According to the stressful event, the body's way to respond to stress is by sympathetic nervous system activation which results in the fight-or-flight response. The body cannot keep this state for long periods of time, afterwards the parasympathetic system returns the body's physiological conditions to normal. In humans, stress typically describes a negative condition or a positive condition that can have an impact on a person's mental and physical well-being.
HypothalamoPituatary Adrenal Axis
Endocrine Response to Stress
Multiple Organ Failure
Conclusion
References
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