Many hormones display distinct circadian rhythms, driven by central regulators, hormonal bioavailability, and half-life. A set of 11-oxygenated C19 steroids (11-oxyandrogens) and pregnenolone sulfate (PregS) are elevated in congenital adrenal hyperplasia and other disorders, but their circadian patterns have not been characterized.
Pregnenolone (P5) promotes prostate cancer cell growth, and de novo synthesis of intratumoural P5 is a potential cause of development of castration resistance. Immune cells can also synthesize P5 de novo.
Neurosteroids affect the balance between neuroexcitation and neuroinhibition but have been little studied in migraine. We compared the serum levels of pregnenolone sulfate, pregnanolone and estradiol in women with menstrually-related migraine and controls and analysed if a correlation existed between the levels of the three hormones and history of migraine and age.
Neurosteroids are steroids synthetized in the nervous system, with the first step of steroidogenesis taking place within mitochondria with the synthesis of pregnenolone. They exert important brain-specific functions by playing a role in neurotransmission, learning and memory processes, and neuroprotection.
Neuroactive steroids, molecules produced from cholesterol in steroidogenic cells (i.e., peripheral glands and nervous system) are physiological modulators and protective agents of nervous function. A possible role for neuroactive steroids in the sex-dimorphic clinical manifestation, onset and progression of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) has been recently suggested.
Mutations in the X-linked cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) gene are responsible for the onset of CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder (CDD), a neurological pathology characterised by severe infantile seizures, intellectual disability, impairment of gross motor skills, sleep and gastrointestinal disturbances. CDKL5 is a serine/threonine kinase the molecular network of which is not yet fully understood.
Pregnenolone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) are hydroxysteroids that serve as biosynthetic precursors for steroid hormones in human body. SULT2B1b has been reported to be critically involved in the sulfation of pregnenolone and DHEA, particularly in the sex steroid-responsive tissues.
The nervous system is a target and a source of steroids. Neuroactive steroids are steroids that target neurons and glial cells. They include hormonal steroids originated in the peripheral glands, steroids locally synthesized by the neurons and glial cells (neurosteroids) and synthetic steroids, some of them used in clinical practice.
Many steroid hormones such as estrogen (E2) bind to their receptors for the regulation of biological processes. Pregnenolone (P5) is the precursor form of almost all steroid hormones and is often used to treat skin disorders and neurological complications. However, the mechanism and physiological function of P5 in reproductive organs are not well established.
Translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO) is located in the mitochondrial outer membrane and plays an important role in steroidogenesis and cell survival. In the central nervous system (CNS), its expression is upregulated in neuropathologies such as Alzheimer's disease (AD).
In animal models, levels of the neurosteroid pregnenolone increase after tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) administration and pregnenolone appears to attenuate the brain effects of THC. Given these interactions between pregnenolone and THC, we evaluated baseline neurosteroid levels in participants with a history of a cannabis use disorders (CUDs).
Past research has indicated gender differences in the clinical characteristics and course of schizophrenia.
The steroid hormone pregnenolone attenuates several in vivo behavioural and somatic effects of the phytocannabinoid Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, and it was suggested that pregnenolone can protect the brain from cannabis intoxication.
Pregnenolone, and related neurosteroids, may have antidepressant properties. Preclinical research proposes that microtubule associated protein 2 (MAP2) binding may be a mechanism for antidepressant properties of pregnenolone.
The structural modifications of pregnenolone have been described via the introduction of heterocyclic moieties at C-17 position by limiting the acyl group.
This study aimed to examine the effect of add-on treatment with the neurosteroid pregnenolone (PREG) on neurocognitive dysfunctions of patients with recent-onset schizophrenia (SZ) and schizoaffective disorder (SA).
Considerable evidence from preclinical and clinical studies shows that steroids and in particular neurosteroids are important endogenous modulators of several brain-related functions.
The neurosteroids allopregnanolone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) are integral components of the stress response and exert positive modulatory effects on emotion in both human and animal studies.
Management of recent-onset schizophrenia (SZ) and schizoaffective disorder (SA) is challenging owing to frequent insufficient response to antipsychotic agents. This study aimed to test the efficacy and safety of the neurosteroid pregnenolone in patients with recent-onset SZ/SA.
Pregnenolone is considered the inactive precursor of all steroid hormones, and its potential functional effects have been largely uninvestigated.
The neurosteroid allopregnanolone is a potent allosteric modulator of the gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptor with anxiolytic properties. Exogenous administration of allopregnanolone reduces anxiety, and allopregnanolone blockade impairs social and affective functioning.
In the search of the sleep substance, many studies have been addressed for different hormones, responsible for sleep-wake cycle regulation. In this article we mentioned the participation of steroid hormones, besides its role regulating sexual behavior, they influence importantly in the sleep process.
Mood and substance-use disorders are both associated with cognitive deficits. Patients with mood and substance-use disorders have poorer cognition than patients with only a mood disorder. Pregnenolone may have beneficial effects on mood and cognition.
Calcium-permeable channels are known to have roles in many mammalian cell types but the expression and contribution of such ion channels in synovial cells is mostly unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential relevance of Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 3 (TRPM3) channel to fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Neurosteroids are a relatively new class of neuroactive compounds brought to prominence in the past 2 decades.
Evidence suggests that neuroactive steroids may be candidate modulators of schizophrenia pathophysiology and therapeutics.
The neurosteroid pregnenolone (PREG) and its chemically synthesized analog 3beta-methoxypregnenolone (MePREG) bind to microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) and stimulate the polymerization of microtubules.
The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor is believed to play a major role in learning and in excitotoxic neuronal damage associated with stroke and epilepsy.
Traditional pharmacologic approaches had identified several classes of xenobiotics that elicited characteristic biological effects in vivo but that lacked defined molecular mechanisms of action.