E-Book Overview
Studies on Men’s Health and Fertility provides a comprehensive series of up-to-the-minute reviews addressing the role of oxidative stress in the aetiology of reproductive pathologies in the male. This volume represents by far the most detailed, authoritative review of the field that has been produced to date. The text encompasses the basic science of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by mammalian spermatozoa, the way in which these highly reactive molecules are processed by the germ line and the physiological significance of this redox activity in the generation of a functional gamete. The factors responsible for perturbing the delicate balance between physiological redox signaling on the one hand and oxidative stress on the other are also extensively reviewed and some of the first clues concerning the underlying mechanisms (age, heat, infection, cryostorage, aberrant lipid metabolism), clearly identified. From a clinical perspective there are chapters setting out the methods we should be using to diagnose oxidative stress in the male germ line, a clinical perspective on the aetiology of this condition and detailed considerations of the most suitable means of ameliorating such stress from a therapeutic point of view.
Studies on Men’s Health and Fertility is intended to provide clinicians and scientists with a snap shot of the current status of this exciting, rapidly moving field. The book will be of value to clinicians interested in strategies for the management of oxidative stress in their infertility patients and scientists wishing to understand the molecular mechanisms underpinning the generation of ROS by these cells and its pathophysiological significance. It was not so long ago that the ability of spermatozoa to generate ROS was a hotly disputed topic. With the publication of this book such doubts can finally be laid to rest. There is now no doubt that these cells actively generate ROS, that oxidative stress is a major contributor to defects in male reproductive health and that the successful clinical management of this condition depends on developing a deeper understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms. In this quest, Studies on Men’s Health and Fertility will be seen as a clear and important milestone.
E-Book Content
Oxidative Stress in Applied Basic Research and Clinical Practice Series Editor Donald Armstrong For further volumes: http://www.springer.com/series/8145 Ashok Agarwal Juan G. Alvarez ● R. John Aitken Editors Studies on Men’s Health and Fertility Editors Ashok Agarwal, PhD Center for Reproductive Medicine Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine Cleveland, OH, USA R. John Aitken, PhD, ScD Department of Biological Sciences University of Newcastle Callaghan, NSW, Australia Juan G. Alvarez, MD, PhD Department of Male Infertility Centro Androgen, La Coruña La Coruña, Spain ISBN 978-1-61779-775-0 e-ISBN 978-1-61779-776-7 DOI 10.1007/978-1-61779-776-7 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London Library of Congress Control Number: 2012933783 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Humana Press, c/o Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion