Pituitary Function and Immunity Routledge Revivals Series

First published in 1986, the influence of hormones secreted or regulated by the pituitary gland on the immune system is examined in detail, including discussions of adrenocorticotropic hormone, glucocorticoids, catecholamines, growth hormone, insulin, prolactin, gonadotropins, sex steroid hormones, and thyroid hormones. The relative importance of various hormones in immunoregulation is considered, and evidence for interaction between the immune and neurohormonal systems is presented. The possible effects of hormonal immunomodulation in reproduction, infections and parasitic disease, autoimmu-nity, and cancer are examined. This comprehensive reference serves both basic and clinical researchers and practitioners in immunology, microbiology, endocrinology, reproduction biology, neurology, oncology, psychology, medicine, and veterinary medicine.

The Immune System and its Function. The Pituitary Gland. Pituitary Malfunction and Immune Abnormalities. The influ-ence of Pituitary-Adrenal Axis on the Immune System. Prolactin and Other Lactogenic Hormones. gonadotropins and Sex Hor-mones. The Pituitary Thyroid Axis. the Effect of Miscellaneous Hormones and Neurotransmitters on the Immune System. Im-munoregulation by Pituitary Hormones. Regulatory Immune-Neuro-Endocrine Feed-back Signals. The Central Nervous System and Learning: Feedforward Regulation of Immune Responses. Role of Hormonal Immunoregulation in Reproduction. The Influence of Hor-mones on Infectious and Parasitic Disease. Sex Hormones in Au-toimmunity. Pituitary-Neurohormonal Immunoregulation in Cancer. Index.

Professional

Dr. Istvan Berczi is Associate Professor of Immunology of the University of Manitoba Health Sciences Center in Winnipeg, Canada. He received his D.V.M. degree from the Veterinary School of Budapest, Hungary in 1962, and his Ph.D. in 1972, from the Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba. Dr. Berczi is a member of several professional societies and scientific organizations that include the Canadian Society for Immunology, the American Association of Immunologists, the American Association for Cancer Research, the Transplantation Society, the New York Academy of Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He authored or co-authored over 60 articles in referred journals, most of which are related to Immunology or Cancer Immunology. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cancer Research and has served as advisor to various granting agencies that include the National Cancer Institute at NIH, the Medical Research Council of Canada, the National Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada. He also serves as a reviewer for papers published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Dr. Berczi’s major research interest lies with hormal regulation of the immune system. Other activities in his laboratory are related to the production of monoclonal antibodies and the immunobiology of cancer. His research program has been supported over the years by the Medical Research Council of Canada, the National Cancer Institute of Canada, the Manitoba Heart Foundation, Winnipeg Clinic Research Institute, the National Institutes of Health, the St. Boniface Research Foundation, the National Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada, and the Arthritis Society of Canada. He has been the recipient of the Visiting Scientist Award by the Medical Research Council of Canada in 1980, in support of his sabbatical research at the Dept, of Tumor Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.