Progesterone and neurology

Abstract

Neurological diseases are frequently observed in perimenopausal women and can be characterized by their gender-specific occurrence. These observations raise the question whether sex steroids are also involved in neurological diseases. Epidemiological data have shown that in Austria in 1993, the prescription rate of psychotropics, hypnotics, and analeptics for women aged 50-55 years increased over 300% compared to other age groups. In males of the same age, an increase of the prescription rate was not observed. Molecular pharmacology research over the last ten years has shown that sex steroids may interact with the central nervous system via GABA receptors as well as with the peripheral nervous system. These observations confirm the epidemiological finding that neurological and psychological functions may also be directly influenced by sex steroids and their metabolites.