Alternative Approaches to end Alcohol Abuse-The HPA Axis

researches have been done and conclusions made. One of the Research fund that the “home” of alcoholism (alcohol) resides in the HPA (hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal) axis of the neuroendocrine system …

Alternative Approaches to end Alcohol Abuse-The Home of Alcoholism in the Body and Mind

Consumption of alcohol is a problem which has kept the global society thinking. There are two different schools of thoughts depending on the interest represented. The interest of health and that of generating revenue, for the purpose of this article we will focus on the interest of health and the possible solutions. Several researches have been done and conclusions made. One of the finds was that that the “home” of alcoholism resides in the HPA (hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal) axis of the neuroendocrine system, to this effect scientists have developed extremely sophisticated tests which monitor the performance of this axis under various conditions by measuring:

• Dopamine
• Serotonin, GABA
• Glutamate
• Epinephrine (adrenaline)
• Norepinephrine (noradrenalin)
• Cortisol
• DHEA

These are the six big neurotransmitters and two key hormones which define either the health of the neuroendocrine system or its state and depth of illness. To better understand the root of this phenomenon we will go into it a little more detail regarding genetic addictive biochemistry and active addiction and how they affect the HPA axis.

Alternative Approaches to end Alcohol Abuse-The hypothalamus

The endocrine system is the network of glands in the body comprised of the hypothalamus, pituitary, pineal, adrenals, thyroid, parathyroid and the sex glands; ovaries and testes.  These glands secrete hormones throughout the body to each and every organ via the blood which are received by their complimentary receptors.  Hormones are “messengers” which carry messages coded by our DNA with the intention of keeping an organ regulated and healthy, essentially functioning as it should.  A hormone’s message will stimulate, suppress or maintain functional cell or tissue activity of the organ it is received by.

The hypothalamus is the center piece of the endocrine system and is located in the middle of the base of the brain.  The purpose of hypothalamus’ is to establish and maintain homeostasis; balance within the body.  It regulates all the functions of the autonomic system of breathing, heart rate, etc… but also hunger, thirst, sexual drive, sleep urination and metabolism which includes blood sugar control.

Although technically hypothalamus is part of the endocrine system it is really central to both the endocrine and nervous system; in fact, it is in the hypothalamus that these two extremely complex systems of the body intersect.  As the Master Accountant, the hypothalamus performs checks and balances and responds to chemical messages of deficient or excess by sending various hormones and neurotransmitters to “adjust” to the requirements of your internal and/or external environments to maintain status quo.  The hypothalamus is able to do this because it houses receptor sites for both hormones from the endocrine system and neurotransmitters from the nervous system and it utilizes the information it receives from those sites to do its job of not only controlling the entire endocrine system, including having a profound influence on the liver, heart and kidneys, but establishing healthy brain chemistry and nervous system performance by correcting neurotransmitter imbalances by either slowing production of what is in excess, ingesting or degrading them faster, or in cases of deficiency, producing and releasing them as required.

Alternative Approaches to end Alcohol Abuse-Addictive biochemistry

The door to addictive biochemistry opens when either the hypothalamus or one of the organs which serve the hypothalamus in accomplishing this job is injured, or if the nutrients required are not available.  In any one of these conditions the entire system will fall off the “point zero” (homeostasis) that the HPA system tries to maintain, and the door for addictive biochemistry is opened.  It is a well-known fact that addictive biochemistry and full out alcoholism are associated with over expression of the sympathetic nervous system; low serotonin, GABA, dopamine, endorphins and enkephalins and it is in the hypothalamus where the delicate job of balancing this network of hormones and neurotransmitters to achieve physical and mental health is supposed to be done whether it be directly from the hypothalamus or via the pituitary and adrenals under the control of the hypothalamus.

Alternative Approaches to end Alcohol Abuse-The difference between addictive biochemistry and alcoholism

The only difference between addictive biochemistry and full out alcoholism is that addictive biochemistry becomes aggravated, meaning that the deficient condition within the hypothalamus, pituitary or adrenals is made more profound by the damaging effects of alcohol toxicity and the medicating effects which, while drinking, overexpress serotonin, endorphins and dopamine which magnifies the negative impact of an already up-regulated brain chemistry.  The symptoms the problem drinker experiences intensify in direct relationship to the diminishing health of the neuroendocrine system which further encourages the person to drink more thus causing even more damage.  This cycle progressively intensifies until intervention which discontinues and heals the damage is required to stop it.

The pituitary gland is located below the hypothalamus and is directly connected to it via nerve and circulatory pathways.  The hypothalamus regulates the function of the pituitary gland which in turn controls hormonal secretions of all other glands; however, specific to alcoholism we are concerned with the function of the adrenals and the secretion of cortisol which is under control of ACTH (adrenocorticotrophin) secreted by the pituitary, and epinephrine and norepinephrine which is also released by the adrenals due to a rise in CRH and/or signals from the sympathetic nervous system.  In the case of cortisol release, when the hypothalamus registers low blood sugar it will send CRH (corticotrophin releasing hormone) to the pituitary which then releases ACTH which will cause cortisol to be secreted from the adrenals.  This chain of events will also cause the release of epinephrine and to a lesser degree norepinephrine.  Prolonged increased levels of epinephrine will block insulin receptors which lead to insulin resistance and lowered serotonin, endorphin, enkephalin and GABA levels which impairs HPA functions and increases compulsive/addictive behavior.

The adrenals sit on top of the kidneys and are directly controlled by the pituitary gland.  The adrenals are comprised of two sections; one is the medulla which is the inner core and the second is the adrenal cortex which is the outer layer.  The medulla relates to the sympathetic nervous system and produces the catecholamine’s epinephrine and norepinephrine.  The adrenal cortex produces sex hormones, aldosterone, and what we’re most concerned with cortisol.

The adrenals receive chemical messengers (hormones) from the pituitary and signal from the sympathetic nervous system which determines how much of its hormones it will release.  However, if they are injured, diseased or fatigued they will not be able to keep up with the demands from the hypothalamus to maintain homeostasis and mild to severe mental disorders will surface as symptoms of compromised adrenal health.

Although it is hard to imagine because they are docked on our kidneys, adrenal health is fundamental to our mental health.  Proper levels of cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine are crucial to our mental well-being so concentrated focus needs to be applied to their health when healing addictive biochemistry and alcoholism. As you consider breaking way from addictive biochemistry and alcoholism, you need the help of an expert to take you through the healing process. Doctor Dalal Akoury is an expert who has the experience of over two decades and has been helping many get their life back globally by emphasizing on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE.

Alternative Approaches to end Alcohol Abuse-The HPA Axis