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What causes diencephalic syndrome?
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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Causes of diencephalic syndrome
Among the etiological factors of hypothalamic dysfunction, particular importance is given to the adverse effects of the following indicators on the child:
- intrauterine hypoxia and fetal malnutrition;
- birth injuries;
- pathology of the second half of pregnancy (preeclampsia of I-III severity), accompanied by fetoplacental insufficiency and the threat of termination of pregnancy in the mother;
- long-term foci of infection (chronic tonsillitis, bronchitis, acute respiratory viral infections).
Among the factors predisposing to the development of hypothalamic dysfunction, the most significant are:
- obesity;
- early puberty;
- thyroid dysfunction.
The triggers for the development of this condition are:
- psychotraumatic situations;
- concussions;
- pregnancy;
- the impact of environmental factors (especially during critical periods of life, including puberty) in girls with congenital or constitutional hypothalamic insufficiency.
Pathogenesis of diencephalic syndrome
Hypothalamic dysfunction is considered as a disorganization of functional systems under the control of the limbic-reticular complex, which includes:
- reticular formation;
- hypothalamus;
- thalamus;
- amygdala;
- hippocampus;
- partition;
- some association areas of the cerebral cortex.
The causes and pathogenesis of these disorders have not been fully studied. The unified point of view of scientists is the idea of the polyetiology of the development of the disease in adolescents with constitutional or congenital hypothalamic insufficiency. The wide range of symptoms in hypothalamic dysfunction is explained primarily by the extensive functions of the hypothalamus, which controls:
- directly the secretion of luteinizing hormones and, indirectly, the activity of endocrine glands;
- metabolic changes:
- function of the autonomic nervous system;
- temperature regulation;
- emotional reactions;
- sexual and eating behavior, etc.
As a result of decompensation of the regulatory activity of hypothalamic structures, the secretion of GnRH and gonadotropic hormones of the pituitary gland is disrupted and, as a consequence, the synthesis of hormones by peripheral glands. In addition, vegetative-vascular disorders occur, less often - motivational and emotional disorders, as well as metabolic changes.