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In 1975, Dr. John Hughes and Dr. Kosterlitz discovered Endorphins. It has been confirmed that Endorphins have both neurological and spinal effects. Twenty different types of Endorphins have been discovered in the nervous system.
The most effective, beta-endorphin, which gives the most euphoric effect to the brain, has been found to be composed of 31 amino acids. The word Endorphin is abbreviated from 'endogenous morphine' which means morphine produced naturally in the body. Endorphins are renowned worldwide as anti-stress hormones that relieve pain naturally. They are secreted to remove stress or pain when you have pain or stress. In other words, they block the signal of pain to the nervous system. This being an effect that reduces the pain and causing an euphoric effect to occur.
Unfortunately Endorphins cannot work for a long time because our body also makes enzymes, called endorphins, which chew up the Endorphins. This is the reason why Endorphins cannot work for a long time causing people to suffer from excruciating pain, as they become old. Endorphins, which have the most positive effect among hormone produced in the brain, make many of our organs healthy. When they are secreted continuously and spread to the whole body, the body becomes healthier. In short, Endorphins are the most precious gifts to human beings. Endorphins enhance our immune system.
When they are secreted, they activate natural killer cells (NK cells) and thereby increase our immune system. Under stress, your immune competence is reduced. NK cells are likely to lose their effects under stress. NK cells, which take responsibility for the immune system by killing defective cells, also have the ability to kill cancer cells. Endorphins also block the lesion of blood vessel. As the Endorphins are secreted more and more, the shrunken blood vessels return to a normal state allowing blood to flow in a normal manner Most adult disease start form clogged blood vessels.
Endorphins help to improve the circulation of blood. Endorphins have anti-aging effect by removing Superoxide. The oxygen coming into the body from breathing can change into a Superoxide. This is one of the biggest enemies for human causing diseases and aging. Endorphins can remove this harmful Superoxide by facilitating the production of 'SOD' (Superoxide Dismutase). This is possible because the Endorphins can keep the brain cells young and healthy.
SOD is the enzyme that neutralized the toxicity of the harmful Superoxide. Therefore Endorphins have anti-aging effect. Endorphins are anti-stress hormones. The ability to cope with the stress is in proportion to the endorphin levels we have in our body.
We will encounter great difficulties in removing our stress unless sufficient amounts of endorphins are released. Endorphins have a pain-relieving effect. Our nervous system secretes neuro-transmitters when it receives the signal of pain. Once the endorphins are released at that moment of pain, endorphins combine with endorphin receptors on the neuron, which hinders the first neuro-transmitters from being secreted. Endorphins help improve your memory. You can improve your memory by the help of endorphins because they can keep the brain cells young and healthy.
They will help you to maintain a harmonious relationship with your colleagues. You will also be able to think creatively and have more endurance. Chemical painkillers known as endorphins and enkephalin's are produced naturally in the body. They are polypeptides, able to bind to the neuro-receptors in the brain to give relief from pain. This effect appears to be responsible for the so-called runner's high, the temporary loss of pain when severe injury occurs, and the analgesic effects that acupuncture and chiropractic adjustment of the spine offer. Four groups of endorphins, alpha, beta, gamma, and sigma, have so far been identified.
Alpha-endorphin contains 16 amino acids, beta-endorphin, another polypeptide (long chains of amino acids) contains 31 amino acids, gamma endorphin contains 17, and sigma-endorphin has 27. Polypeptides with greater than 50 amino acids in their chain are called proteins. The enkephalin's are penta peptides, the smallest of the molecules with pain killing or opiate activity. The enkephalin's are found in the thalamus of the brain and in parts of the spinal cord that transmit pain impulses. The amino acid sequence of encephalic is found in the longer amino acid sequence of the endorphin. A chemical called substance P, a polypeptide with 11 amino acids, has been found to transmit pain impulses to the brain.
Endorphins may act to prevent the release of substance P, which may account for the sedating effects of endogenous endorphins and narcotics given, such as heroin and morphine. A rise in blood levels of endorphins is measurable after exercise, and sexual activity. Some scientists feel that endorphin release may be another reason some people pursue dangerous activities such as bungee jumping. So called thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies may not just be addicted to the rush of adrenaline.
Pleasant memories such as our first bike, or a great vacation, or bad memories, as when a loved one or a pet dies are also linked to the autonomic nervous system and the brain stem. Endorphin researchers suggest a link between our emotional state of well being and the health of our immune systems. Endorphins and other neurotransmitters that are flooded into our bloodstream during stress. For years it had been suspected that opiates had specific binding sites in the brain. There were several attempts to locate these sites. Technological limitations of the early days made it impossible to distinguish the receptors.
The first attempt to isolate endorphins and the receptor sites was done by Dr. Vincent Dole in 1970. By the early seventies technology evolved to a point where the discovery was inevitable. The first to shake the scientific community was Solomon Snyder, and his student, Candace Pert, at Johns Hopkins University in 1973. Using a technique developed at Stanford University by Dr. Array Goldstein, Snyder and Pert located the difficult to find receptors using Dr.
Goldstein's bio-chemical research. The existence of endorphins could not be proven until receptors on nervous tissue could be proved. In the 60 's, it was discovered that a chemist at Berkeley, Choh Li, had isolated a pituitary hormone which he named B- lipotropin. Li noted that one portion of this hormone had analgesic properties. One year after the receptor sites had been discovered John Hughes in Scotland reported the existence of a morphine-like substance, which was later purified and named Enkaphalin meaning "in the head." The Scottish group recognized the peptide sequence as being the same as the B-lipotropin hormone discovered at Berkeley. Dr.
Choh Li would later isolate the chemical from his earlier discovered pituitary hormone and named this chemical "Endorphin" which means "the morphine within." Today the term opioid is used for all endorphins and morphine-like chemicals, including Dynorphin another brain opioid peptide later found by Dr. Goldstein in 1979. A recent clinical use of another opioid has led to new theories concerning Autism. One theory states that autistic individuals may have too much beta-endorphin in their central nervous system. This theory goes on to postulate that a synthetic encephalic called Naltrexone may effectively block opiate receptor sites reducing levels of endorphin uptake at the receptor sites. These high levels of endorphins are thought to be responsible for the trance like state that many of those afflicted with this little understood disease, Autism, have.
Some of the clinical improvements noted after Naltrexone therapy in autistic patients have increased socialization, eye contact, general happiness, normalized pain sensitivity; and a reduction in self-injury and stereotypic (self-stimulatory) behaviors. The body most likely produces endorphins during exercise because the body doesn't realize that one is just "exercising. " For example, if one were running away from an enemy (or predator or any type of danger), would one really want to know how much ones muscles (or sprains or strains or even broken things) hurt? No, it would be a distraction to the task at hand, namely survival. So, the body produces endorphins (the natural opiates) which dampen down the pain inputs. Today, of course, one is likely to be running to lose a few pounds or for a race or because of enjoyment, but as one works out, the body doesn't necessarily know why the activity levels are what they are, it is just monitoring the levels.
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