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ROLE OF PROSTAGLANDINS
Prostaglandins were discovered by a Swedish scientist, von Euler, in the 1930s. He first found these molecules in the seminal fluid and thought they came from the prostate gland, so he called them prostaglandins. It was only later that scientists discovered that these molecules were all over the body.
Prostaglandins act as vital cell regulators. They control every cell and every organ in your body on a second-by-second basis. The nearest thing to them is hormones, which also have important messenger roles. But prostaglandins aren\'t like hormones, which zip around all over the place. Prostaglandins are much more local than that; they\'re a bit like neighborhood hormones regulating everything but staying on their own patch.
Each prostaglandin has a very specific effect in each tissue. The main actions of prostaglandins seem to be as local messengers which regulate the activity of the tissues in which they are produced. They also regulate the activity of certain key enzymes. And because the prostaglandins have such a key role as regulators of every cell, it helps to explain why this important molecule could possibly be of such vital importance in so many apparently different conditions.
Since von Euler\'s discovery in the 1930s, prostaglandins have been found particularly in blood vessel walls, macrophages, platelets, duodenal secretions, nerves, and every organ.
Prostaglandins have an extremely short life span; most are removed from the blood during a single passage through the lungs. They are so short-lived in part because they are naturally unstable, and in part because they have highly efficient mechanisms which break them down. The very short life span of prostaglandins makes them difficult to administer as drugs because they have to be given intravenously.
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GENERAL HEALTH
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