Male Puberty: A Triggered Biochemical Event towards Sexual Maturation

The finding of a concise definition for puberty has proved to be a difficult task for the scientific community and it remains an intense matter of discussion. Nowadays, there is consensus that puberty is a dynamic process influenced by many factors. In this chapter, we will discuss some of the most relevant biochemical markers of puberty and briefly emphasize their relevance in the development and onset of puberty. We will expose the neuroendocrine control that lies behind this very complex hormonally-dependent process. In addition, since puberty is definitely not experienced in the same way by all individuals, we will also discuss genetic, metabolic and nutritional factors as key modulators for the control of puberty onset. The final section of this chapter is dedicated to a brief overview on puberty-associated disorders, pinpointing the clinical features that should be taken into consideration and the deleterious signals that may occur until sexual maturation is achieved.

Keywords: Anti-müllerian hormone, GABA, Glutamate, Growth Hormone, Insulin Growth Factor Binding Protein-3, Insulin Growth Factor-1, Kisspeptin, Leptin, Melatonin, Tanner Stages.