Parental communication and support is associated with improved developmental, health and behavioral outcomes in adolescence. This study explores the quality of mother-daughter communication about sexual maturation, abstinence and unintended pregnancy in Korogocho, an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. We use data from 14 focus group discussions (n = 124) and 25 interviews with girls aged 12...

Exposure of female rodents to testosterone in the critical neonatal period produces defeminization/masculinization of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, i.e. neonatal androgenization and postpones axis maturation. To address the hypothesis that HPG axis signaling is involved in the programming of thymic maturation/involution and sexual differentiation we studied the impact of neonata...

Chalcalburnus mossulensis from the cyprinidae family is one of the indigenous fish in Gheshlagh Lake of Kordestan, Iran. Ligula intestinalis is one of the infective parasites among various species of fish and causes gonads atrophy. In this study, after detection of species and age of samples, the effects of this parasite on gonads tissues and sexual maturation of Chalcalburnus mossulensis were ...

Sex steroids are crucial regulators of sexual differentiation and the proper development of secondary sex characteristics and patterns of sexual behavior. Since Leydig cells are the primary major producers of these steroid hormones, maintenance of the normal functions of these cells determines the reproductive capacity and fertility of males. The present minireview discusses recent findings con...