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A '''hormone''', in the original sense given by the English physiologists [[wikipedia:William Bayliss|William Bayliss]] and [[wikipedia:Ernest Starling|Ernest Starling]] in 1905, is a substance produced by one tissue and carried in the bloodstream to act on a target tissue elsewhere in the body. In the pharmacological sense relevant to this category, a hormone medicine is one prepared from, derived from, or designed as an analogue of an endogenous hormone, used either for replacement when the endogenous hormone is deficient, for pharmacological effect at supraphysiologic doses, or as an antagonist of the natural hormone where its excess is the clinical problem.

The discovery of hormones is conventionally dated to a single demonstration in Bayliss and Starling's laboratory at [[wikipedia:University College London|University College London]] on 16 January 1902. The dominant theory of digestive control at the time, championed by [[wikipedia:Ivan Pavlov|Pavlov]], held that pancreatic secretion was controlled by the vagus nerve in response to acidic chyme entering the duodenum. Bayliss and Starling denervated a loop of jejunum in an anaesthetised dog, introduced dilute hydrochloric acid into the loop, and observed that pancreatic secretion still occurred; they then extracted from the jejunal mucosa a substance that, injected intravenously, produced the same response. They named the substance [[wikipedia:Secretin|secretin]], and in a 1905 Croonian lecture Starling proposed the general term '''hormone''' (from the Greek ''hormao'', to excite or set in motion) for any substance with a chemical-messenger role.<ref name="bayliss1902">Bayliss WM, Starling EH. The mechanism of pancreatic secretion. ''Journal of Physiology''. 1902 Sep 12;28(5):325-353.</ref>

The pharmacology of the hormones, organised by hormone-producing tissue and target system, has been the principal narrative of endocrinology for the century since. The thyroid hormones (thyroxine, isolated by [[wikipedia:Edward Calvin Kendall|Edward Kendall]] at the Mayo Clinic in 1914; the active triiodothyronine identified in 1952 by [[wikipedia:Rosalind Pitt-Rivers|Rosalind Pitt-Rivers]]) replaced the desiccated thyroid extract that George Murray had introduced for myxedema in 1891. The adrenal cortex hormones, isolated in the 1930s and brought to clinical use as [[Cortisone|cortisone]] in 1948 (described in detail under [[:Category:Corticosteroids|corticosteroids]]), are the foundational anti-inflammatory medicines. The pancreatic islet hormone insulin, isolated by Banting, Best, Macleod, and Collip in Toronto in 1921 (described in detail under [[:Category:Antihyperglycemic_agents|antihyperglycemic agents]] and the [[:Category:Insulins|insulins]]), transformed diabetes from a uniformly fatal disease to a chronic manageable one. The gonadal steroid hormones (described under [[:Category:Sex_hormones|sex hormones]]) underpin the medicines of contraception, of menopausal replacement, and of hormone-responsive cancer treatment. The peptide hormones of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis (growth hormone, gonadotropin-releasing hormone, oxytocin, vasopressin, prolactin, and the gonadotropins, the adrenocorticotropic hormone, the thyroid-stimulating hormone) and of the gut (gastrin, cholecystokinin, glucagon, glucagon-like peptides) extend the catalogue.

Several of the larger subcategories deserve specific mention. The [[:Category:Thyroid_hormones|thyroid hormones]] (levothyroxine, liothyronine, and the desiccated thyroid extracts) are among the most-prescribed medicines in primary care; levothyroxine monotherapy is the standard for hypothyroidism, with the triiodothyronine added in selected cases. The [[:Category:Antithyroid_agents|antithyroid agents]] (the thionamides methimazole and propylthiouracil) treat hyperthyroidism on the supply side, while [[wikipedia:Radioactive iodine|radioactive iodine]] (I-131, a radiopharmaceutical) and surgical thyroidectomy provide the definitive alternatives. The mineralocorticoid replacement [[wikipedia:Fludrocortisone|fludrocortisone]] is used in Addison's disease and in salt-wasting congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Growth-hormone replacement (somatropin, the recombinant human growth hormone) is used in pediatric growth-hormone deficiency, Turner syndrome, chronic renal insufficiency in childhood, and the adult growth-hormone-deficiency syndrome. The vasopressin analogue desmopressin treats central diabetes insipidus and nocturnal polyuria. The somatostatin analogues octreotide and lanreotide treat carcinoid syndrome and acromegaly. The oxytocin medicine pitocin is used for uterine stimulation in labour and postpartum hemorrhage.

The hormone-antagonist branch of the category includes the [[:Category:Antiandrogens|antiandrogens]] used in prostate cancer and in polycystic ovary syndrome, the gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists and antagonists used in prostate cancer (with their respective receptor pharmacology described under [[:Category:Sex_hormones|sex hormones]]), the selective estrogen-receptor modulators (tamoxifen, raloxifene), the [[:Category:Aromatase_inhibitors|aromatase inhibitors]], the cortisol-synthesis inhibitors used in Cushing's syndrome (ketoconazole at supraphysiologic doses for steroidogenesis inhibition; the more specific metyrapone, osilodrostat, and mitotane), and the parathyroid-hormone receptor antagonist cinacalcet (for secondary hyperparathyroidism).

The pharmacokinetics of the hormone medicines is constrained by their molecular structure. The peptide hormones (insulin, growth hormone, the parathyroid hormone analogues teriparatide and abaloparatide, the GLP-1 receptor agonists, calcitonin) are not orally absorbed and require subcutaneous or intravenous administration; the steroid hormones (cortisol, sex hormones, vitamin D analogues) are orally bioavailable but undergo significant first-pass metabolism, and the bioidentical sex hormones are often administered by transdermal or vaginal route to bypass it. The thyroid hormones, although peptides in structure, are orally bioavailable because of their small size and lipophilicity. The recent development of oral peptide formulations using absorption-enhancing technology (the Eligen carrier of [[wikipedia:Semaglutide|oral semaglutide]], approved in 2019) has opened the oral route for selected peptide hormones, but the field remains technically demanding.

== Subcategories indexed ==

By endocrine system:

* '''[[:Category:Corticosteroids|Corticosteroids]]''' (adrenal cortex hormones and their synthetic analogues):
** Glucocorticoids (systemic, inhaled, topical), mineralocorticoids ([[wikipedia:Fludrocortisone|fludrocortisone]] for replacement)
* '''[[:Category:Sex_hormones|Sex hormones]]''' (gonadal steroids):
** [[:Category:Estrogens|Estrogens]], [[:Category:Progestins|progestins]] and [[:Category:Progestogens|progestogens]], androgens including testosterone, [[:Category:Antiandrogens|antiandrogens]], SERMs, [[:Category:Aromatase_inhibitors|aromatase inhibitors]], GnRH agents
* '''[[:Category:Thyroid_hormones|Thyroid hormones]] and [[:Category:Antithyroid_agents|antithyroid agents]]''':
** Levothyroxine (T4), liothyronine (T3), desiccated thyroid extract; methimazole, propylthiouracil
* '''[[:Category:Insulins|Insulins]] and other antihyperglycemic hormone-related agents''' (cross-indexed under [[:Category:Antihyperglycemic_agents|antihyperglycemic agents]]):
** All injectable insulins, GLP-1 receptor agonists, GIP/GLP-1 dual agonists, amylin analogue pramlintide, glucagon
* '''Pituitary and hypothalamic hormones''':
** Growth hormone (somatropin) and growth-hormone-releasing-hormone agents
** Vasopressin and desmopressin
** GnRH agonists (leuprolide, goserelin, triptorelin) and antagonists (degarelix, elagolix, relugolix)
** ACTH (cosyntropin for testing, repository corticotropin injection)
** Oxytocin
** Somatostatin analogues (octreotide, lanreotide, pasireotide)
** Bromocriptine and cabergoline (dopamine agonists used in prolactinoma; cross-indexed under [[:Category:Endocrine_therapy|endocrine therapy]])
* '''Parathyroid and calcium hormones''':
** [[wikipedia:Teriparatide|Teriparatide]] (recombinant PTH 1-34), abaloparatide (PTH-related peptide analogue) for osteoporosis
** Calcitonin (salmon calcitonin for osteoporosis, hypercalcemia)
** [[:Category:Vitamin_D_analogs|Vitamin D analogues]] [[Calcitriol|calcitriol]] (the active hormonal form), paricalcitol, doxercalciferol
** Calcimimetic [[wikipedia:Cinacalcet|cinacalcet]] for secondary hyperparathyroidism
* '''Adrenal medulla and catecholamines''' (cross-indexed under [[:Category:Vasopressors|vasopressors]] and [[:Category:Sympathomimetics|sympathomimetics]]):
** Epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, phenylephrine
* '''Gut hormones and incretins''' (cross-indexed):
** GLP-1 receptor agonists (semaglutide, liraglutide, tirzepatide as dual GIP/GLP-1)
** [[wikipedia:Secretin|Secretin]] (diagnostic use in pancreatic function testing)
** Cholecystokinin analogues (research)

== Notes on scope ==

The boundary of this category is "medicine consisting of, derived from, or designed as an analogue of an endogenous human hormone, or an antagonist of one." The neurotransmitters (acetylcholine, dopamine, norepinephrine in their CNS roles, serotonin) overlap conceptually with the catecholamine hormones but are not collected here in their neurotransmitter functions; their medicines are collected under the relevant target system. The cytokines and growth factors that signal locally (paracrine and autocrine action) rather than as classical bloodstream hormones are not collected here in this category sense; their medicines are listed under [[:Category:Biologics|biologics]], [[:Category:Immunomodulators|immunomodulators]], and the specific indication categories. The melatonin and melatonin-receptor agonists used in insomnia and circadian-rhythm disorder are hormones in the strict sense but are conventionally listed under sleep-medicine rather than here. Vitamin D in its 1,25-dihydroxy form is functionally a hormone and is cross-indexed under [[:Category:Vitamin_D_analogs|vitamin D analogues]].

== About these pages ==

This category page is an encyclopedia article about its subject. The actual index of medicines belonging to the category is generated automatically by the wiki engine, from category-membership declarations on the individual medicine pages, and appears at the foot of the page below the references.

== References ==

<references/>

[[Category:Medicines]]
[[Category:Endocrine_therapy]]
[[Category:CuratedCategoryPage]]

Category:Hormones - Revision history

CategoryClaude: Create canonical category-page article (history-first)