Bøger i Hormones in Health and Disease serien

The past few years have witnessed the emergence of steroid hormones as the wonder molecules which generate as much discussion in the scientific literature as they do in a typical living room. This transition has been a result of the tremendous public and scientific interest in the normal functioning of the hor­ mones as well their suggested involvement in several clinical conditions. In the recent past, notable scientific and technological advances have been made in the areas of contraception and regulation of fertility. Steroid receptors are the indis­ pensable mediators of hormonal responses and are complex protein molecules which appear to exist in association with other, yet undefined, proteins and/or factors. Receptors for vitamin D, retinoic acid and the thyroid hormones share structural similarities with steroid receptors, and the roster of this superfamily is still expanding. While our knowledge of the diversity and magnitude of steroid effects has advanced, the precise mode of steroid hormone action has alluded investigators. This volume brings together an international team of prominent investigators who discuss their most recent work on the basic and clinical aspects of steroid/nuclear receptors. The contributions represent updated versions of the invited presentations made at The Second Meadow Brook Conference on Steroid Receptors in Health and Disease. I am grateful to my colleagues on the Scientific Committee: Etienne Baulieu, Jack Gorski, Benita Katzenellenbogen, David Toft and James WittJiff, who provided the vision and guidance in formulating an out­ standing program.

These two volumes on Estrogens, Progestins, and Their Antagonists repre­ sent a thematic extension of the series, Hormones in Health and Disease. The first publication in the series, Steroid Hormone Receptors: Basic and Clinical Aspects, focused on recent advances in the anatomy of steroid receptors and members of the steroid receptor superfamily. Consistent with the spirit of the series, the authors addressed issues of clinical significance of steroid receptor detection in hormone-related disorders. The second volume in the series, Hormones and Cancer, attempted a more direct examination of ac­ tions of hormones in cancerous tissues and cells. In these two volumes, which together form the third in the series, the editor, Dr. Edward Pavlik, has introduced a team of leading investigators engaged in research on various aspects of the steroids that regulate female reproductive physiology. Estrogens and progestins, the main components of the most widely used contraceptive pills, have found a variety of uses in clinical endocrinology. These volumes contain discussions that range from the introduction of novel hormonal ligands to hormonal antagonism by steroid analogs. A balanced treatment is provided of applications of the steroids in treatment and management of hormone-dependent conditions and malignancies. The remarkable synthesis of literature contained in this volume will provide a reader with both the fundamental concepts underly­ ing steroid hormone physiology and the clinical applications of observations made on basic aspects of hormone action. I congratulate the editorial leadership of Dr.

These two volumes on Estrogens, Progestins, and Their Antagonists repre­ sent a thematic extension of the series, Hormones in Health and Disease. The first publication in the series, Steroid Hormone Receptors: Basic and Clinical Aspects, focused on recent advances in the anatomy of steroid receptors and members of the steroid receptor superfamily. Consistent with the spirit of the series, the authors addressed issues of clinical significance of steroid receptor detection in hormone-related disorders. The second volume in the series, Hormones and Cancer, attempted a more direct examination of ac­ tions of hormones in cancerous tissues and cells. In these two volumes, which together form the third in the series, the editor, Dr. Edward Pavlik, has introduced a team of leading investigators engaged in research on various aspects of the steroids that regulate female reproductive physiology. Estrogens and progestins, the main components of the most widely used contraceptive pills, have found a variety of uses in clinical endocrinology. These volumes contain discussions that range from the introduction of novel hormonal ligands to hormonal antagonism by steroid analogs. A balanced treatment is provided of applications of the steroids in treatment and management of hormone-dependent conditions and malignancies. The remarkable synthesis of literature contained in this volume will provide a reader with both the fundamental concepts underly­ ing steroid hormone physiology and the clinical applications of observations made on basic aspects of hormone action. I congratulate the editorial leadership of Dr.