Faithin Omaha eBook Collection

Download or read book Estrogen Effects in Psychiatric Disorders written by Niels Bergemann and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2005-01-24 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 Alzheimer’s 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.