Recent Progress in Reproductive Endocrinology [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION by G.B. Candiani. In 1672 Reiner de Graff first described the ovarian follicle and this allows us to put in the right historical perspective our present knowledge in the field of reproductive endocrinology. In the last ten years there is no doubt that the endocrinological study of humán reproduction has made considerable progress. Thanks to the new methods of investigation, and their high sensitivity, scientists can now study the values of circulating hormones in a more precise way. The nanogram and the picogram have become familiar to the physician and to the endocrinologist. The structure of humán prolactin and other unknown substances will be elucidated, while the hypothalamic releasing hormones have been obtained by chemical synthesis. The changed attitűdé of the physician towards the functional aspects of medicine is no less important. In many ways, biochemistry is considered to be the ultimate diagnostic and prognostic tool, so that nowadays we are necessarily seeking characteristic biochemical responses in order to differentiate one syndrome from another. The achievements in the field of reproductive endocrinology have alsó introduced, with hormonal contraception, one of the most significant sociological events of the twentieth century. In many species, when its population grows beyond a critical limit, biological changes take place in the individuals such as to reduce or even to abolish fertility. The extraordinary growth of world population has made this a serious problem even for the humán race. In this situation, knowledge of the physiology of the gonadotropins and gonadal steroids is the key point in achieving a solution to this problem. For this reason, I believe we must study together the methodological, physiological and clinical aspects. As you know, it is not easy to carry out biological and clinical research in Italy; political and financial support are very limited. I would üke, therefore, to thank the Serono Foundation for its activity in promoting biological education