The Impact of Gonadal Hormones on the Expression of Human Neurological Disorders

Abstract

The effects of gonadal steroids on neurological well-being and disease constitute a rich and rapidly expanding area of basic and clinical neuroscience. Gonadal hormones exert potent effects on monoaminergic, cholinergic and peptidergic pathways as well as neurosteroidogenesis which, in turn, impact normal brain organization and function. A spectrum of human neurological conditions are influenced by hormonal fluctuations associated with the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, the menopause and use of oral contraceptives. An appreciation of these relationships may facilitate the development of specific hormonal and anti-hormonal therapies for neurological disorders as disparate as catamenial epilepsy and acute intermittent porphyria.

Effects of nutraceuticals on quality of life and sexual function of perimenopausal women

“…Therefore, during perimenopause, psychological and cognitive changes can appear such as depression, mood swings, difficulty concentrating and impaired memory [4]. Hormonal fluctuations during the initial stages of menopause are also responsible, at least in part, for a certain affective instability and emotional distress [5][6][7][8]. These hormonal changes are responsible for the symptoms of menopause influencing the woman's lifestyle, body image and the kind of diet, depending on the social context in which she lives [9].…”

An in vitro Study on the Contractility of Epileptic Myometrium and Effects of Antiepileptic Agents on Oxytocin-Induced Contractions of Myometrium Isolated from Absence Epileptic WAG/Rij Rats

“…Furthermore, these findings might have implications with regard to the catamenial epilepsy, as higher level of spontaneous contractility among nonpregnant epileptic WAG/Rij myometrium might also have relation with dysmenorrhea-related abdominal pain. Indeed, it is already suggested that catamenial epilepsy affects a considerable portion (up to 70%) of women with epilepsy [13, 14]. There are also a couple of case reports indicating comorbidities of epilepsy and abdominal pain due to dysmenorrhea [15, 16].…”

Hormones and Sex-Specific Medicine in Human Physiopathology

“…They are not only produced peripherally by the reproductive organs. A plethora of studies have determined that approximately 2% of free plasma gonadal hormones synthesized peripherally cross the blood-brain barrier, and others are directly developed locally, de novo, from cholesterol-derived precursors [9]. The steroidogenesis in the brain gives rise to neurosteroids, which may function as inhibitory or excitatory neuromodulators upon direct interaction with steroid neuroreceptors or by allosteric regulation of ion channels [10].…”

“…Sex hormones interact with specific receptors located in the cytoplasm or nucleus of target cells or at the cell membrane [9]. Identified estrogen receptors consist of nuclear estrogen receptors (ERs) and non-nuclear estrogen receptors, both including estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and estrogen receptor beta (ERβ), and G protein-coupled estrogen receptors (GPERs), membrane receptors that are also encountered in the endoplasmic reticulum of many cell types [16].…”

“…The ligand-receptor complex binds to a hormone response element, a particular supervisory DNA segment in the promoter region of genes, leading to the modulation of transcription and the mRNA modification [17]. More recent literature suggests that, apart from the typical genomic interaction of estrogens with their receptors, the binding of non-nuclear ERs may trigger prompt signaling pathways involved in various cell functions and has been detected in different histotypes, including nervous system cells and lymphocytes [9,[17][18][19]. Classical, nuclear acting ERs can function as transcription factors and regulate gene expression on a slow time range.…”