TY - JOUR
T1 - Progesterone-induced neuroprotection
AU - Singh, Meharvan
N1 - Funding Information:
Supported by NIH grants AG 22550 and AG 23330 and a Young Investigator award from NARSAD.
PY - 2006
Y1 - 2006
N2 - Estrogen and progesterone are two steroid hormones whose biology has been greatly studied within the confines of reproductive function. As a consequence, the effects of these hormones on the brain have focused primarily on the hypothalamus. Growing evidence, however, forces us to recognize that various extrahypothalamic brain regions, including the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, are equally important targets of these hormones. As such, hormones are involved in numerous aspects of brain function, and elicit effects ranging from the regulation of mood and cognition to the regulation of neuronal survival. While estrogen exerts neuroprotective effects in various experimental models, the potential for progesterone as a protective agent has, until recently, been greatly understudied. Here, we review the data from various laboratories including our own that support the protective role of progesterone and describe the multiplicity of mechanisms by which progesterone elicits these protective effects. Finally, we contrast the neurobiology of progesterone with that of the clinically used progestin, medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), and suggest that the "natural" progesterone may be the better choice when considering which progestin to use for future therapeutic/palliative purposes in CNS-related disorders.
AB - Estrogen and progesterone are two steroid hormones whose biology has been greatly studied within the confines of reproductive function. As a consequence, the effects of these hormones on the brain have focused primarily on the hypothalamus. Growing evidence, however, forces us to recognize that various extrahypothalamic brain regions, including the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, are equally important targets of these hormones. As such, hormones are involved in numerous aspects of brain function, and elicit effects ranging from the regulation of mood and cognition to the regulation of neuronal survival. While estrogen exerts neuroprotective effects in various experimental models, the potential for progesterone as a protective agent has, until recently, been greatly understudied. Here, we review the data from various laboratories including our own that support the protective role of progesterone and describe the multiplicity of mechanisms by which progesterone elicits these protective effects. Finally, we contrast the neurobiology of progesterone with that of the clinically used progestin, medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), and suggest that the "natural" progesterone may be the better choice when considering which progestin to use for future therapeutic/palliative purposes in CNS-related disorders.
KW - Neuroprotection
KW - Progesterone
KW - Progestins
KW - Signal transduction
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33746211291&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1385/ENDO:29:2:271
DO - 10.1385/ENDO:29:2:271
M3 - Review article
C2 - 16785602
AN - SCOPUS:33746211291
SN - 1355-008X
VL - 29
SP - 271
EP - 274
JO - Endocrine
JF - Endocrine
IS - 2
ER -