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Query: UMLS:C0038187 (starvation)
 24,951 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A model of the origin of modern humans through several population bottlenecks caused by glacial cycles and cold-arid periods was used as a frame for describing occurrence of unique physiological characteristics. Occurrence of regular evening food sharing among the hominid group members improved their chances of finding food the next day. It allowed slow emergence of a gracile and energy efficient phenotype. Improving chances of group survival in the harsh environment included these traits: - The menstrual cycle occurrence in the common ancestor of human and great apes. - Single pregnancies only in women with sufficient fat reserves. Ovulations stop during the food shortage seasons, or longer periods of starvation and during lactation. - Women prone to obesity sooner become pregnant, passing the obesity trait as an advantage. - Seldom pregnancies separated by several years of anovulation made a strong pressure toward the longevity of women and man. - Menopausis improved the group survival through preventing pregnancy of women to old to deliver and raise children without significant risks. The modern times food abundance results in high incidences of adiposity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Continuos ovulations from puberty to menopausis except during seldom pregnancies and lactations is considered responsible for the occurrence of estrogen induced breast and endometrial cancers. The combination of longevity with decades of androgen secretion is the main cause of prostate cancer.
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PMID:Human adiposity, longevity and reproduction features as consequences of population bottlenecks. 1797 25

Chronic energy deficiency can impair the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and lead to hypothalamic anovulation in underweight women. This review presents the syndromes related to underweight status that are associated with infertility, summarizes the underlying mechanisms, and reviews the available treatment options. Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa (AN), constitute the most common cause of infertility in underweight women, who, in addition, experience miscarriages, and sexual dysfunction. The relative energy deficiency in sports (RED-S; former terminology: athlete's triad) involves menstrual dysfunction due to low energy availability, which results in anovulation. Moreover, lipodystrophies, malnutrition, starvation, systematic illnesses (malignancies, endocrinopathies, infectious diseases, advanced chronic diseases, neurologic illnesses), and the utilization of drugs can cause excessive weight loss. They may result in fertility problems due to the loss of adipose tissue and the subsequent hormonal disturbances. Each of these conditions requires multidisciplinary management. Nutritional counseling should target the restoration of energy balance by increasing intake and reducing output. Medical treatment, recommended only for patients who did not respond to standard treatment, may include antipsychotics, antidepressants, or leptin administration. Finally, psychiatric treatment is considered an integral part of the standard treatment.
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PMID:The effect of underweight on female and male reproduction. 3228 45

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by hyperandrogenism, oligo-anovulation and polycystic ovarian morphology, with metabolic dysfunction from insulin resistance and abdominal fat accumulation worsened by obesity. As ancestral traits, these features could have favored abdominal fat deposition for energy use during starvation, but have evolved into different PCOS phenotypes with variable metabolic dysfunction. Adipose dysfunction in PCOS from hyperandrogenemia and hyperinsulinemia likely constrains subcutaneous (SC) fat storage, promoting lipotoxicity through ectopic lipid accumulation and oxidative stress, insulin resistance and inflammation in non-adipose tissue. Recent findings of inherently exaggerated SC abdominal stem cell development to adipocytes in women with PCOS, and PCOS-like traits in adult female monkeys with natural hyperandrogenemia, imply common ancestral origins of PCOS in both human and nonhuman primates.
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PMID:Endocrine-Metabolic Dysfunction in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: an Evolutionary Perspective. 3236 40