Multiple endocrine neoplasias
Definition
The multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) syndromes are four related disorders affecting the thyroid and other hormonal (endocrine) glands of the body. MEN has previously been known as familial endocrine adenomatosis.
The four related disorders are all neuroendocrine tumors. These tumorous cells have something in common, they produce hormones, or regulatory substances for the body's homeostasis. They come from the APUD (amine precursor and uptake decarboxylase) system, and have to do with the cell apparatus and function to make these substances common to the cell line. Neuroendocrine tumors cause syndromes associated with each other by genetic predisposition.
Description
The four forms of MEN are MEN1 (Wermer syndrome), MEN2A (Sipple syndrome), MEN2B (previously known as MEN3),...
[The entire page is 3566 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
