Immunological Aspects of Reproduction and Fertility Control

ISBN-13: 9789401180412 / Angielski / Miękka / 2012 / 253 str.

J. P. Hearn

Opis

The no-man's-land between reproductive physiology and immunology is becoming crowded. The last 10 years have seen a revolution in our under- standing of many reproductive processes, brought about by the application of ever more sophisticated immunological methods. The increasing precision of these techniques has given us specific ways of assaying, enhancing or blocking hormonal mechanisms to yield more critical and interpretable information. In this volume eleven authors have presented the current status and future prospects of some immunological aspects of reproduction and fertility con- trol. These include the relationships between mother and fetus, the diagnosis of pregnancy, the immunological complications seen in clinical management of human reproduction and some novel approaches for immunological control of fertility. We hope that in these chapters we have achieved an up-to-date account of a fast-moving field that calls on several disciplines. We intend the book to provide an adequate background and a current review for research workers and clinicians who wish both to understand the complex mechanisms involved and to develop improved scientific and clinical methods. We hope too that the student and newcomer will find this a useful reference book.

Spis treści

Section I Immunological Aspects of Reproduction.- 1. Immunological relationships between mother and fetus during pregnancy.- 2. Immunological relationships between mother and conceptus in man.- 3. Immunological diagnosis of early pregnancy.- 4. Immunological aspects of eclampsia and pre-eclampsia.- 5. Immunological factors in male and female infertility.- Section II Immunological Aspects of Fertility Control.- 6. Inhibition of reproductive function by antibodies to luteinizing hormone releasing hormone.- 7. Immunization against zona pellucida antigens.- 8. The current status of anti-pregnancy vaccines based on synthetic fractions of HCG.- 9. Vaccines based upon the Beta-subunit of HCG.- 10. The immunobiology of chorionic gonadotrophin.