Internet Resources: Endocrinology

Submitted by I. Diane Gelarden Cooper, AHIP, NIH Library, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD; edited by Patricia M. Weiss

The endocrine system is a complex collection of hormone-producing glands that control basic body functions such as metabolism, growth, and sexual development. Hormone production is carefully balanced. Too much or too little of any hormone can have effects throughout the body and cause endocrine disorders. Many of the hormones interact with each other to maintain balance. The following medical websites include news, facts, guidelines, and other information that may be of use to practicing clinicians.

Doctor’s Guide Channels: Endocrinology/Other
www.docguide.com/news/content.nsf/channel?OpenOther
This website presents news in the field of endocrinology. It offers a collection of recent articles from major medical journals in the field, plus webcasts and case presentations.

eMedicine: Endocrinology Articles
www.emedicine.medscape.com/endocrinology/
An accessible point-of-care medical reference, eMedicine is available to physicians and other health care professionals. Said to be evidence-based, the content is updated regularly by nearly 10,000 attributed physician authors and editors. It provides practice guidelines in 59 medical specialties. Articles are categorized among the following topics: Adrenal Gland, Diabetes Mellitus, Gonads, Metabolic Bone Disease, Metabolic Disorders, Multiple Endocrine Disease and Miscellaneous Endocrine Disease, Parathyroid Gland, Pituitary Gland, and Thyroid.

Family Practice Notebook.com: Endocrinology Book
www.fpnotebook.com/Endo/
Chapters in the Family Practice Notebook’s Endocrinology Book cover broad subject areas such as adrenal disease, thyroid disease, and hypoglycemic disorders. Each chapter is further divided into specific diseases or conditions with information on epidemiology, pathophysiology, symptoms, laboratory testing, and management. The notebook’s target audience is primary care providers, well-informed patients, and healthy families.

Karolinska Institute: Diseases and Disorders: Links Pertaining to Endocrine System Diseases
For years, the library at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, has collected links to free medical web resources. Its Endocrine System Diseases category lists a large variety of links that are devoted to specific disorders. Information included in each resource may include general information, fact sheets from the organizations that focus on a given disorder, clinical guidelines for practitioners, pathology, and case studies. Click on the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) button for a scope note and MeSH tree location. Click on the More Links button for bibliographic databases, library catalogs, knowledge resources, and link collections.

Medical News Today: Endocrinology News
www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/endocrinology/
Endocrinology News is published daily and presents items on thyroid diseases, menopause, cancers of the endocrine glands, hormone replacement, and other topics. It also offers a small video library.

The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library: Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders
www.merck.com/mmpe/sec12.html
Thirteen chapters of this well-known manual are devoted to topics such as adrenal disorders, lipid disorders, and multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes. Each chapter is subdivided by disorder type and includes an introduction and sections on symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.

US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK): National Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases Information Service
The NIDDK has established information services to increase knowledge and understanding about health and disease among patients, health professionals, and the public. This site includes an online system for ordering NIDDK publications about specific disorders, links to national endocrine organizations, frequently asked questions–type pages on seventeen clinical topics, statistics on endocrine and metabolic diseases in US populations, and a section on clinical trials, guidelines, and research reports.

NOTE: Only noncommercial websites are linked.