Endocrine system

As in the whole body, the endocrine system is also affected by the passage of time, so that older people also suffer an increase or decrease in the effects of various hormones.

The endocrine system is made up of multiple glands that secrete substances, hormones, that regulate many other systems. There are differentiated organs whose only function is to produce them, such as the thyroid, while others, such as the pancreas, have a double function (in this case digestive and endocrine, as they are in charge of producing insulin).

The changes in hormone secretion and function over the years are subtle. The most notable thing is the decrease in sensitivity to the action of insulin, despite a normal secretion by the pancreas, due to resistance of cellular insulin receptors, which causes glucose intolerance and in more advanced cases, diabetes.

There are also changes in sex hormones, which in women, when menopause occurs, are more pronounced. Ovarian function is pre-programmed in women from the embryonic stage (there are so many eggs to develop in such a long time), so that when the eggs are “finished” the usual menstrual cycle ceases quite abruptly and the production of female hormones radically decreases. . For this reason, the woman becomes infertile and secondary sexual characteristics deteriorate: there is a depletion of hair in the sexual areas, there is a certain degree of genital atrophy, as well as glandular breast tissue, whose size can be maintained at the expense of fatty tissue , and psychological and libido changes occur.

In men, there is also a decrease in testosterone secretion, but much slower and more progressive, which leads to atrophy of the genitals and difficulties in achieving and maintaining a correct erection.

In older people, it is also common to see a decrease in the thyroid's ability to react, so that it is more difficult for the body to compensate for the needs of the change in metabolic rate. Sometimes these changes are severe enough to cause hypothyroidism.

The secretion of corticosteroids in the face of phenomena that produce stress (both physical and mental) is lower, which reduces the body's ability to adapt.

These changes, along with alterations in other more specific hormonal systems that control the stability of the internal environment and the relationship with the environment, are a fundamental part of the evolution towards the frailty of the elderly.