Estrogen Effects in Psychiatric Disorders [Paperback]

A number of studies, mostly focusing on estrogen replacement therapy in women, have reported beneficial actions of these hormones on various neurobiological and neuropathological parameters in health and disease. Recent research has focused on gender differences and there is increasing evidence that estrogens exert protective effects in schizophrenia. Hormonal fluctuations or lack of estrogen may increase the risk of depression among vulnerable women. Treatment of depression with estrogen may stabilize and restore disrupted homeostasis  as during post-partum, premenstrual, or perimenopausal conditions  and act as a psychomodulator to offset vulnerability to dysphoric mood when estrogen levels are significantly decreased, as in the case of postmenopausal women. Studies on the effect of estrogens on Alzheimers Disease are still rather controversial, they do, however, facilitate the hypothesis that estrogens may have a modifying effect on the onset and course of AD, at least in subgroups of patients.The study of the effects of gonadal hormones in the brain focussed mainly on reproductive actions for a long time. Meanwhile, however, it is well known that gonadal hormones, in particular estrogens, also have neuroprotective and psychoprotective properties. They modulate many brain functions such as cognitive functions, pain regulation, motor coordination, and epilepsy, as well as affective and psychotic disorders, to name just a few. In fact, during the past few years we have experienced a major change in our understanding of the endocrinologic aspects of psychiatric disorders. Endocrinologic irregularities in psychiatric patients are no longer viewed as pure epiphenomena but rather discussed as part of the pathomechanism of the disorders.How exactly estrogens affect various disorders is a fascinating and intriguing aspect of this emerging field of non-reproductive brain actions of gonadal hormones. Among the estrogens, especially estradiol appears to play an importantlC$