Authentic Biochemistry

1. Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) or hormone (CRH) is one of several neurohormones synthesized by specific hypothalamic nuclei in the brain and released into the portal system which bathes the anterior pituitary 2. CRF has marked CNS effects by acting at higher centers in the brain: cortical regions where there is a widespread distribution of CRF neurons. 3. Major role of CRF is to prepare the organism for an appropriate response to various stressors such as physical trauma, insults to the immune system and social interactions 4. It is the hyper- or hyposensitivity of the system that can lead to human pathologies such as anxiety, depression and feeding disorders 5. The hypothalamus induced combined pituitary hormone deficiency, which  is responsible for  systemic hypoplasia is the result of a neutral sphingomyelinase (SMPD3)deficiency 6. SMPD3  deficiency triggers acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) plus de novo CER synthesis and salvage CER production  from sphingosine with concomitant alte