The world is faced with an epidemic of metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. This is due to changes in dietary habits and the decrease in physical activity. Exercise is usually part of the prescription, the first line of defense, to prevent or treat metabolic disorders. However, we are still learning how and why exercise provides metabolic benefits in human health. This open access volume focuses on the cellular and molecular pathways that link exercise, muscle biology, hormones and metabolism. This will include novel “myokines” that might act as new therapeutic agents in the future.

It is a commonly held belief that athletes, particularly body builders, have greater requirements for dietary protein than sedentary individuals. However, the evidence in support of this contention is controversial. This book is the latest in a series of publications designed to inform both civilian and military scientists and personnel about issues related to nutrition and military service. Among the many other stressors they experience, soldiers face unique nutritional demands during combat. Of particular concern is the role that dietary protein might play in controlling muscle mass and strength, response to injury and infection, and cognitive performance. The first part of the book contains the committee's summary of the workshop, responses to the Army's questions, conclusions, and recommendations. The remainder of the book contains papers contributed by speakers at the workshop on such topics as, the effects of aging and hormones on regulation of muscle mass and function, alterations in protein metabolism due to the stress of injury or infection, the role of individual amino acids, the components of proteins, as neurotransmitters, hormones, and modulators of various physiological processes, and the efficacy and safety considerations associated with dietary supplements aimed at enhancing performance.

This edited volume, Hormone Therapy and Replacement in Cancer and Aging-related Diseases, is a collection of reviewed and relevant research chapters, offering a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the field of hormone replacement therapy. The book comprises single chapters authored by various researchers and edited by experts active in the hormone replacement therapy research area. All chapters are complete in themselves but united under a common research study topic. This publication aims at providing a thorough overview of the latest research efforts by international authors on hormone replacement therapy, and opens new possible research paths for further novel developments.

The isolation of leptin in 1994 and its characterization as a factor influencing appetite, energy balance, and adiposity, immediately thrust the polypeptide into the rapidly growing body of literature centered on the physiology of obesity. The growing clinical awareness of obesity as a major health risk in developed societies dovetailed perfectly with any of a number of roles that leptin might play in this abenant physiological condition. Almost unnoticed amidst the excitement generated by early leptin publications was the suggestion that the "fat hormone" might also regulate a wide range of systems and events important to reproduction, including pubertal development, gonadal endocrinology, fettility, and pregnancy. Recognizing this potential, a relatively small cadre of researchers began to examine leptin specifically as a reproductive hormone, thus creating a new and fertile field of investigation. Interest in this area has since gained momentum and an increased number of participants have now made significant contributions to our understanding of many leptin-related mechanisms that are relevant to reproductive biology. Leptin and Reproduction is the first major volume to specifically address leptin as a reproductive hormone and closely examines the advances made in the short time since this field of interest developed. Preeminent researchers ti'om many of the subdisciplines working within this area present a welcomed compendium of the wealth of related literature and voice novel interpretations of cun'ent advances.

This volume includes the latest diagnostic criteria for PCOS and comprises the most up-to-date information about the genetic features and pathogenesis of PCOS. It critically reviews the methodological approaches and the evidence for various PCOS susceptibility genes. The book also discusses additional familial phenotypes of PCOS and their potential genetic basis. All four editors of this title are extremely prominent in the field of PCOS.