Mechanisms and Biological Significance of Pulsatile Hormone Secretion

Many endocrine systems use the intermittent or pulsatile release of hormones to transmit complex information into cellular compartments of the body.

Although the actual concentration of a particular hormone is clearly important in endocrine signalling, valuable information is also encoded by the frequency of hormone release.

In addition, circadian and seasonal rhythmicity also characterize the action of many hormones.

This exciting book brings together an international group of basic and clinical scientists to discuss the importance of pulsatile signalling in the induction of biological responses.

Coverage includes the basic mechanisms involved in hormone pulsatility, the significance of pulsatility in normal and disease conditions, the relevance to circadian rhythms, changes with ageing, and detailed consideration of specific peptide hormone systems.

This book includes papers by many leading experts in this field, together with extensive discussions which reveal much new and exciting work in this area and identify promising new research directions.