Experimental Endocrinology and Hormone Chemistry, Institute of

(full name, Institute of Experimental Endocrinology and Hormone Chemistry of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR), a scientific research institute devoted to studying the morphology, physiology, biochemistry, and pathology of the human endocrine system.

The institute was organized in Moscow in 1965 from the All-Union Institute of Experimental Endocrinology of the Ministry of Public Health of the USSR; in the same year it became part of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR. As of 1977, the institute had 12 laboratories, which carried on research in such fields as the molecular mechanisms of hormonal regulation, the chemistry of steroid hormones, and the chemistry and biochemistry of peptide-protein hormones. It also had four clinical departments, including surgical and pediatric departments.

The research performed by the institute focuses mainly on four areas. The first of these is the interrelation of the hypothalamus and higher divisions of the central nervous system in the regulation of endocrine functions. The second is the chemical structure of hormones and mechanisms of their action at the molecular level. The third area of research is the hormonal regulation of metabolism during both sickness and health. The fourth is the pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, epidemiology, and prevention of diabetes mellitus and other endocrine diseases. The institute has also performed studies to clarify the biosynthesis of adrenal cortex hormones, determine the structure of certain peptide-protein hormones, and synthesize insulin that is identical to human insulin.

The institute has graduate and postgraduate programs, and it has the right to confer doctor’s and candidate’s degrees.