Endocrine Pharmacology: Selected Topics

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Pharmacology, as the science of the interactions of chemicals with living systems, embraces the study o f hormones, naturally occurring chemicals vital to life and health and often important drugs as well. From the time of John Jacob Abel, pharmacologists have made notable contributions to endo­ crinology. Yet the study of hormones, aside from the catechol amines, is not the major field in present day academic pharmacology that it should be. Re­ search on hormones is so important, so attractive, and so broad in its scope that it is not surprising that almost every medical discipline has shared in it. Other basic sciences that precede pharmacology in the medical curriculum ordinarily relieve departments of pharmacology of much of the responsi­ bility for teaching endocrinology, and the subject of hormones as diagnostic and therapeutic agents is often left to the clinical departments. These are some of the factors that have helped to determine the present restricted posi­ tion of endocrinology in pharmacology. Despite the importance of the hormones in the spectrum of pharmaco­ logical science, it is realistic to recognize that progress in endocrinology is being continuously reviewed in the Annual Reviews of Biochemistry, Physi­ ology, and Medicine. In the future it may be in order to reallocate endocrine topics among the four Annual Reviews; for the present a minimum of over­ lap has been the objective. Furthermore, limitations of space and of the capacity of the reviewer have prohibited a comprehensive survey. A num­ ber of areas of significant research have been omitted entirely, for example, the mechanism of action of insulin. Since selection was necessary, the topics chosen reflect, naturally, the interests of the reviewer. Three subjects, andro­ gens, parathyroid hormone, and the hypothalamic secretory factor for ACTH, have been reviewed in considerable detail, although not exhaus­ tively. Seven other topics have been dealt with briefly by citation of recent reviews and a narrow selection of current papers. The survey of the litera­ ture was concluded, for the most part, in August, 1960.