Influential researchers comprehensively survey the basic and clinical aspects of the insulin-like growth factor system. Their state-of-the-art synthesis of a broad range of IGF research illuminates the interplay among ligands, receptors, and binding proteins, each exerting both the local and systemic effects that constitute this complex system. The book examines in detail not only the molecular biology, the biological actions, and the physiology of the various IGF systems, but also the clinical aspects of the IGF system, ultimately producing a useful paradigm for the investigation of related hormone, growth factor, and cytokine signaling systems. The IGF System: Molecular Biology, Physiology, and Clinical Applications is the first extended treatment of the IGF system in many years and is designed to serve as the new standard reference-of-choice for all basic and clinical investigators, as well as practicing physicians treating a range of human diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders.