Homeostatic Imbalance

Hi,

My name is Franz Devantier, creator of this blog.  I am an Herbalist, who uses local and indigenous herbs when available, in preference to imported herbs.  Because Herbalists deal with living human beings, it is important to have an understanding of Anatomy and Physiology, as well as many other related subjects, such as How to grow old gracefully with Stem Cell Enhancers.

Homeostatic Imbalance

Homeostasis is such an important factor in the Human body, that most disease is regarded as a result of the disturbance of Homeostasis.  The disturbance of homeostasis is considered as a Homeostatic Imbalance.

As we age, our body organ systems and control systems show signs of sear and become less efficient.  As our internal organs and control systems become less efficient, our internal environment becomes less stable.  As the Homeostatic Balance becomes less perfect we are at greater risk for disease, and the changes associated with ageing take place.

An important source of Homeostatic Imbalance occurs when during certain pathological conditions or situations, in which the usual negative feedback mechanism is compromised or overwhelmed.  As a result a potentially destructive positive feedback mechanism takes over.  In some instances of heart failure, this was the mechanism that caused the ultimate heart failure. 

Franz Devantier,

How to grow old gracefully with Stem Cell Enhancers.

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Positive Feedback Mechanisms

Hi,

My name is Franz Devantier, creator of this blog.  I am an Herbalist, who uses local and indigenous herbs when available, in preference to imported herbs.  Because Herbalists deal with living human beings, it is important to have an understanding of Anatomy and Physiology, as well as many other related subjects.

Positive Feedback Mechanisms

Positive feedback works a little bit differently.  The result or response of the mechanism enhances or exaggerates the original stimulus, so that the activity or the output is accelerated.  This type of feedback mechanism is called Positive Feedback.  With positive feedback the change that occurs, continues to proceed in the same direction as the original disturbance, causing the variable to deviate further and further from its original value or set point.  Negative feedback mechanisms keep physiological functions for example blood chemicals within narrow ranges.  Positive feedback mechanisms control episodic or infrequent events that do not need to be continuously adjusted.  Positive feedback mechanisms set off a series of events that may be self-perpetuating and quite explosive.

Positive feedback mechanisms can easily race out of control, they are rarely used to control the moment to moment well being of the body, or to maintain normal homeostasis.  Positive Feedback mechanisms are also referred to as cascades, cascade in Italian means to fall.

There are only a few examples of Positive feedback mechanisms in the Human Body.  Two examples are blood clotting, and the enhancement of labor contractions during birth.

Blood clotting is a normal response to laceration or damage to the lining of a blood vessel.  This mechanism is an important mechanism in restoring Homeostasis, through the process of the positive feedback.

1.) Break or tear in blood vessel wall.

2.) Clotting occurs as platelets adhere to the site and release chemicals

3.) Released chemicals attract more platelets.  (Positive feedback mechanism)

4.)  Clotting proceeds until break is sealed by newly formed clot.

Finally once the clot is formed the positive feedback mechanism shots off, and the body is back to a state of Homeostasis.  

The positive feedback mechanism that intensifies labor contractions during birth of the baby works like this:

As the baby moves down into the mothers birth canal, the increased pressure on the mothers cervix, which is the muscular outlet of the uterus; excites receptors that are located in the cervix.    These receptors send rapid nerve impulses to the brain, the brain responds by triggering the release of the hormone oxytocin.  Oxytocin is transported in the blood to the uterus where it stimulates the muscles in the uterine wall to contract even more vigorously.  This forces the baby still further into the birth canal.  This cyclic series of events continues, causing the uterine contractions to become more frequent and more powerful, until the baby is finally born.  Once the baby is born the  stimulus for oxytocin release ends.  Remember the stimulus was the pressure of the baby pressing against the cervix.  So when the baby is no longer pressing against the cervix, the positive feedback mechanism shuts off.  The body moves back into a state of homeostasis.

Franz Devantier,

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Negative Feedback Mechanisms

Hi,

My name is Franz Devantier, creator of this blog.  I am an Herbalist, who uses local and indigenous herbs when available, in preference to imported herbs.  Because Herbalists deal with living human beings, it is important to have an understanding of Anatomy and Physiology, as well as many other related subjects, such as How to grow old gracefully with Stem Cell Enhancers.

Negative Feedback Mechanisms

Most Homeostatic control mechanisms are “Negative Feedback Mechanisms”.  A good example of a mechanical negative feedback system is a Home Cooling system, which is connected to a temperature-sensing thermostat.  The thermostat houses both the receptor and the control center in this example.  If the thermostat is set to a comfortable temperature such as 22 degrees celcius, then the cooling effect  or the Effector is triggered when the house temperature rises above 22 degrees.  As the air conditioner comes back on line and the air is cooled, it drops to below 22 degrees again, and the air conditioner is switched off again.  The result is that the temperature is maintained at fairly close to 22 degrees.  The set point is 22 degrees, and so the state of Homeostasis is close to 22 degrees.

In the human body you have a similar temperature control mechanism or thermostat that is located in a part of your brain called the Hypothalamus, this is your body thermostat.  This mechanism would operate in a similar way.  Various responses such as sweating and constricting the blood vessels close to the skin will help to control the body temperature at the ideal temperature.

There are other types of neural control mechanisms.  For example the “withdrawal reflex”, in which the hand is withdrawn quickly from a painful stimuli.  In the withdrawal reflex, the control center is not the brain, but the nerves structures that are present, long before the stimuli would have reached the central nervous system.  The endocrine system also has very important mechanisms that it maintains, in order to maintain Homeostasis.

A good example of an endocrine or hormonal control mechanism is the negative feedback system that is in place to control the blood glucose levels, by means of the pancreatic hormones.

In order for normal body metabolism to take place, normal body cells must have access to plenty of glucose.  This is the major fuel for cells to produce energy, or ATP.  Blood sugar levels are normally maintained at around 90 milligrams of glucose per 100 millilitres of blood.  Let’s assume that you have lost your willpower, and have eaten an entire slab of sugar packed chocolate.  The chocolate is quickly broken down to sugars, by your digestive system, and the surplus sugars, flood the blood stream.  As a result your blood sugar levels have spiked upwards, and that delicately balanced balance of the blood sugar level has been disrupted.  Homeostasis has been disrupted.

The rising glucose levels stimulate the insulin producing cells of the pancreas, which responds by secreting insulin directly into the blood.  Insulin accelerates the uptake of glucose by most body cells, and encourages the storage of excess glucose as glycogen in the liver, as well as the muscles of the body.  This results in a reserve of Glucose in the larder if you like.  As a result of this process blood sugar levels ebb back towards the normal set point which is around 90 milligrams of glucose per 100 millilitres of blood.  As this happens the stimulus for insulin release from the pancreas decreases.  The above process ended with the Negative feedback mechanism, as the body eased back into Homeostasis. 

Glucagon, is the other pancreatic hormone, and it has the opposite effect to Insulin.  Suppose you have missed lunch, and your blood sugar levels drop to lower levels, the release of Glucagon is triggered in the pancreas.  Glucagon is secreted directly into the blood stream.  Glucagon target the liver, and stimulates the release of the Glucose or glycogen to be released as Glucose into the bloodstream.  As a result the blood sugar levels start to increase, back towards their Homeostatic range, and the stimuli for glucagon release diminishes.

The body’s ability to regulate its internal environment is fundamental for survival, and all negative feedback mechanisms have the same goal.  To prevent sudden severe changes within the body, and to maintain the body in a state of Homeostasis.  There are hundreds of negative feedback mechanisms in the body, that helps to keep the body in a state of homeostasis.  Mechanisms that regulate the heart rate or heart beat, blood pressure, the rate and depth of breathing, and the blood levels of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and minerals.

            

Lets step through this process again:

Stimulus: Rising blood glucose levels.

-> message goes to the pancrease which is the control center, and can determine the set point.  Insulin is secreted into the blood stream.

-> Most body cells take up more glucose, and the liver stores the surplus glucose as glycogen.

-> Blood glucose levels declines to the set point, and the stimulus for insulin decreases or ceases. (Negative Feedback Mechanism)

Homeostasis has been re-established.

Stimulus: Declining blood glucose levels:

-> message goes to pancreas or the control center, and the pancreas causes glucagon to be released into the bloodstream.

-> Liver breaks down the Glycogen stores and release glucose into the bloodstream.

-> Blood glucose level rises to set point, and the stimulus for glucagon release diminishes. (Negative feedback Mechanism)

Homeostasis has been re-established.

Franz Devantier,

How to grow old gracefully with Stem Cell Enhancers.

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General Characteristics of Control Mechanisms

Hi,

My name is Franz Devantier, creator of this blog.  I am an Herbalist, who uses local and indigenous herbs when available, in preference to imported herbs.  Because Herbalists deal with living human beings, it is important to have an understanding of Anatomy and Physiology, as well as many other related subjects, such as How to grow old gracefully with Stem Cell Enhancers.

General Characteristics of Control Mechanisms

Communication within the body, between the different organ systems, organs and ultimately the trillions of cells is essential for Homeostasis or a balance to exist.  There are two main type of communication within the human body, nervous system and the endocrine system.  The nervous system communicates by means of electrical impulses, which are delivered to the target areas.  The endocrine system uses blood-borne hormones as an information carrier.  These are two complex and great regulating or communicating systems in the human body.

The basic characteristics of the control systems that promote Homeostasis are like this:

Firstly we need to define a few terms, regardless of whether they are activated by the nervous system or the endocrine system.

-> Variable:  The variable is the event being regulated.

-> Receptor:  This is some type of sensor that monitors the environment and responds to changes, by sending information to the Control Center.  The change in the environment is called a Stimuli.

-> Control Center:  The flow of information from the receptor, flows along the Afferent pathway to the control center.  The control center determines the “Set Point”, which is the level or range of values, within which a variable should be maintained.  The control center analyzes the reponse and then determines the appropriate response.

-> Effector: The Effector is the third component of the Receptor – Control center - effector

Mechanism.   The effector carries out the control centers response or output to the stimulis.  Information flows from the control center along the efferent pathway to the effector.  Then there is another factor that comes into play, as soon as the effector has delivered its message.  The state of the variable is monitored further by the Receptor, which then picks up the result of the action, and sends it back to the control center.  This feedback will then influence the control center, which based on this feedback, but also on additional parameters, will start to shut the response down, which is negative feedback, or continue to enhance the response which is positive feedback.

So these are the basic factors of the control mechanism for Homeostasis in a nutshell.  So now lets just run through a quick example, which could end in either negative feedback or positive feedback.

Lets say we are monitoring a certain condition in the body, and the receptor or sensor monitoring this factor takes note that it has increased beyond what it should be.  The receptor that picked this up, sends the information along the afferent pathway to the control center.  The control center determines that it has exceeded its set point and sends the reponse to reduce the parameter.  The message travels from the control center through the efferent pathway to the effector.  The effector delivers the message to the parameter that is being monitored.  The result is that the factor will reduce slightly and so come close to being in a perfect state of balance or Homeostasis.  At the same time there is feedback along the same channels to the control center so that the magnitude of the response can be adjusted.

Or you could put this process in another way:

1.) Stimulus produces a change in the variable.

2.) Change is detected by the receptor or sensor.

3.) Input information is sent along the afferent pathway to the control center.

4.) Output information is sent along the efferent pathway to activate.

5.) Response of Effector feeds back to influence magnitude of stimulis.

 

Franz Devantier,

How to grow old gracefully with Stem Cell Enhancers.

Income stabilizer (win-win opportunity)

Join the carefully selected and tested cash-flow generating program below to potentially create a long-term residual or annuity type income for yourself.

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