Endocrine Abstracts

George P. Chrousos, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA Abstract

Dr. George P. Chrousos is Chief of the Pediatric and Reproductive Endocrinology Branch at the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Physiology at Georgetown University Medical School, Washington, DC, and Professor of Pediatrics at Athens University Medical School. Recognized as an outstanding researcher in endocrinology and metabolism, his contributions include research on the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and the pathophysiologic and molecular mechanisms of the syndromes of glucocorticoid hormone resistance and congenital isolated glucocorticoid deficiency. His research team introduced corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) as a diagnostic test for Cushing syndrome and adrenal insufficiency. Their research also elucidated the pathophysiology of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis alterations in a number of developmental/psychiatric states, including major affective disorder, anorexia nervosa, chronic strenuous exercise, atypical depression, the chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia syndromes, and the adolescent and postpartum blues/depression syndromes. Dr. Chrousos and his colleagues determined the neuropeptide feedback and cytokine regulation of the hypothalamic CRH neutron. His research team isolated tissue corticotropin releasing factor, and demonstrated that it is a major determinant of peripheral inflammation. He cloned the regulatory region and studied the regulation of the human CRH gene. He and his colleagues elucidated neural and hormonal mechanisms through which the stress system influences the immune and inflammatory reaction and predisposes individuals to allergic, autoimmune, infectious and neoplastic disorders. Dr. Chrousos has not only left an indelible mark on the field of endocrinology through his research, but also by his mentorship of a whole school of young leader clinician/investigators.