2019 年 56 巻 1 号 p. 1-5
The biological origin of circumventricular organs (CVOs) evolutionally goes back to the invertebrates and even further to plants. The CVOs are classified into sensory CVOs (subfornical organ, organum vasculosum of lamina terminalis, and area postrema) and secretory CVOs (neurohypophysis, pineal gland, subcommissural organ, and median eminence). Physiological mechanisms of life-saving homeostasis arising from CVOs consist of at least the following eight axes; neuroendocrine regulation axis, circadian rhythm regulation axis, innate immune regulation axis, nociceptive response regulation axis, body fluid regulation axis, cognitive regulation axis, locomotive driving regulation axis, and inhibitory regulation axis. Summarizing the above, the CVO physiologically contributes to a wide spectrum of autonomic, endocrine, cognitive, sensory gating, and motor regulations, whose impairments potentially result in the complex symptoms being composed of sleep-related, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, menstrual, emotional, cognitive, sensory, and motor symptoms. I propose the new clinical concept, “circumventricular organs dysregulation syndrome (CODS)” that is known to be seen in human papilloma virus vaccination-associated neuro-immunopathic syndrome (HANS), von Economo’s encephalitis lethargica, craniopharyngioma, interferon encephalopathy, metronidazole induced encephalopathy, Wernicke encephalopathy, schizohrenia with water intoxication, Alzheimer’s disease with overeating, neuromyelitis optica, stiff-person syndrome, cerebrospinal fluid hypovolemia, heat stroke, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome / myalgic encephalomyelitis, menopausal syndrome, and frailty syndrome (sarcopenia syndrome).
