Neurosteroid

Zuranolone, an example of a neurosteroid, used for the treatment of postpartum depression

Neurosteroids, also known as neuroactive steroids, are endogenous or exogenous steroids that rapidly alter neuronal excitability through interaction with ligand-gated ion channels and other cell surface receptors.[1][2] The term neurosteroid was coined by the French physiologist Étienne-Émile Baulieu and refers to steroids synthesized in the brain.[3][4] The term, neuroactive steroid refers to steroids that can be synthesized in the brain, or are synthesized by an endocrine gland, that then reach the brain through the bloodstream and have effects on brain function.[5] The term neuroactive steroids was first coined in 1992 by Steven Paul and Robert Purdy. In addition to their actions on neuronal membrane receptors, some of these steroids may also exert effects on gene expression via nuclear steroid hormone receptors. Neurosteroids have a wide range of potential clinical applications from sedation to treatment of epilepsy[6] and traumatic brain injury.[7][8] Ganaxolone, a synthetic analog of the endogenous neurosteroid allopregnanolone, is under investigation for the treatment of epilepsy.[9]

  1. ^ Paul SM, Purdy RH (March 1992). "Neuroactive steroids". FASEB Journal. 6 (6): 2311–22. doi:10.1096/fasebj.6.6.1347506. PMID 1347506. S2CID 221753076.
  2. ^ Lan NC, Gee KW (December 1994). "Neuroactive steroid actions at the GABAA receptor". Hormones and Behavior. 28 (4): 537–44. doi:10.1006/hbeh.1994.1052. PMID 7729823. S2CID 40697424.
  3. ^ Reddy DS (2010). "Neurosteroids". Sex Differences in the Human Brain, their Underpinnings and Implications. Progress in Brain Research. Vol. 186. pp. 113–37. doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-53630-3.00008-7. ISBN 9780444536303. PMC 3139029. PMID 21094889.
  4. ^ Reddy DS, Rogawski MA (2012). "Neurosteroids — Endogenous Regulators of Seizure Susceptibility and Role in the Treatment of Epilepsy". In Noebels JL, Avoli M, Rogawski MA, et al. (eds.). Jasper's Basic Mechanisms of the Epilepsies [Internet]. 4th edition. Bethesda (MD): National Center for Biotechnology Information (US). National Center for Biotechnology Information (US). PMID 22787590.
  5. ^ Srivastava DP, Waters EM, Mermelstein PG, Kramár EA, Shors TJ, Liu F (November 2011). "Rapid estrogen signaling in the brain: implications for the fine-tuning of neuronal circuitry". The Journal of Neuroscience. 31 (45): 16056–63. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4097-11.2011. PMC 3245715. PMID 22072656.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference pmid19332335 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Morrow AL (October 2007). "Recent developments in the significance and therapeutic relevance of neuroactive steroids--Introduction to the special issue". Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 116 (1): 1–6. doi:10.1016/j.pharmthera.2007.04.003. PMC 2047816. PMID 17531324.
  8. ^ Dubrovsky BO (February 2005). "Steroids, neuroactive steroids and neurosteroids in psychopathology". Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry. 29 (2): 169–92. doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2004.11.001. PMID 15694225. S2CID 36197603.
  9. ^ Bialer M, Johannessen SI, Levy RH, Perucca E, Tomson T, White HS (January 2013). "Progress report on new antiepileptic drugs: a summary of the Eleventh Eilat Conference (EILAT XI)". Epilepsy Research. 103 (1): 2–30. doi:10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2012.10.001. PMID 23219031.