The Virility Paradox

Charles J Ryan, MD, is The Thomas Perkins Distinguished Professor of Clinical Medicine and Urology at the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Ryan earned a BA in Philosophy, magna cum laude from Marquette University where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He attended the University of Wisconsin Medical School. He trained at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He is the Program Leader for genitourinary medical oncology at UCSF and is Chair of the UCSF Committee on Human Research, which oversees the ethical conduct of research on humans at the institution. He serves as co-chair of the National Cancer Institute’s Prostate Cancer Task Force and the leader of the Advanced Prostate Cancer Cadre in the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, a national clinical trials group. Dr. Ryan’s research focuses on the development of new treatments for advanced prostate cancer and he has published over 100 articles and chapters in the world’s leading medical journals including the New England Journal of Medicine. In addition, he was the principal investigator for the development of Abiraterone acetate, a treatment now considered a standard of care in advanced prostate cancer. It has been administered to over 200,000 patients worldwide. Dr. Ryan is the cofounder of the Supportive Therapy in Androgen Deprivation (STAND) program at UCSF, a program which seeks to integrate physical activity, nutrition, and emotional support for men receiving hormonal therapy for prostate cancer and their partners.

Introduction



 



Part I               The Chemical That Binds Us



 



1          The Litigator’s Metamorphosis: From Competition to Compassion



2          Of Molecule and Mind: How Fetal Testosterone Shapes Our Thinking



3          Women and Testosterone: Inner Virility and Outer Identity



4          Bell Curves and Binaries: Womanhood and Testosterone Among the Outliers



 



Part II              The Many Faces of Virility



 



5          Lifting the Fog on Love: On the Chemistry of Coupling



6          The Unquiet Sunset: Testosterone and Alzheimer’s



7          The Alopecia Paradox: Of Hair and He-Men



8          The Darkest Demon: The Biological Underpinnings of Sexual Aggression



 



Part III                        Evolution, Manipulation, and Adaptation



 



9          Poetry and Placebos: The Ancient Quest to Rekindle Virility



10        Stronger. Faster. Happier?: Supplementation and its Discontents



11        Beauty Versus the Beast: Bodybuilding, Steroids, and the Aesthetics of Manhood



12        Winston Needs a Cuddle: Hormones and the Nurturing Environment that Shapes Families



 



Conclusion



 



Notes



Acknowledgments



Index