Progesterone and progestins: neuroprotection and myelin repair

Progesterone, known for its role in pregnancy, also exerts marked effects on the nervous system. Its neuroprotective and promyelinating actions, now well documented by experimental studies, make it a particularly promising therapeutic agent for neuroinjury and neurodegenerative diseases. This concep...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Schumacher, Michael, Sitruk Ware, Regine, de Nicola, Alejandro Federico
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2008
Country:Argentina
Institution:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repository:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/25465
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/25465
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Progesterone
Progesterone Receptors
Neuroprotection
Hormone Replacement Therapy
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3.1
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3
Description
Summary:Progesterone, known for its role in pregnancy, also exerts marked effects on the nervous system. Its neuroprotective and promyelinating actions, now well documented by experimental studies, make it a particularly promising therapeutic agent for neuroinjury and neurodegenerative diseases. This concept has recently been translated into clinical practice, though there is need for more experimental studies and investigations on the mechanisms of the actions of progesterone. However, it is important to be aware that most of the experimental research concerns the effects of physiological progesterone. Although progesterone represents an interesting therapeutic option, the recognition of its beneficial effects on the nervous system also suggests novel therapeutic benefits for some synthetic progestins derived from progesterone, currently used for contraception or in postmenopausal hormone replacement therapies (HRTs).