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Neuropharmacology

Premenstrual steroids?

Nature volume 392, pages 869–870 (1998)Cite this article

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a disorder that is characterized by depression, anxiety and mood swings. It regularly occurs during the last week of the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, two weeks before menses1,2, and the symptoms have a considerable negative effect on the social and occupational lives of severely afflicted women. The menstrual cycle is associated with large fluctuations in a variety of steroids3 that are thought to be involved in PMS4, and, on page 926 of this issue, Smith et al.5 provide an insight into the potential link between members of one such group of steroids — the neuroactive steroids — and an animal model of PMS.

Some neuroactive steroids, such as allopregnanolone, can produce behavioural effects that are similar to those caused by benzodiazepine drugs, including anticonvulsant7 and anxiolytic-like8 actions. They alter neuronal excitability by binding to allosteric sites on neurotransmitter-gated ion channels, such as the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-mediated chloride ion channel. This binding leads to either inhibition or potentiation of the inhibitory effects of GABA on this channel. Inhibition of GABA-receptor function produces effects ranging from anxiety and excitability to seizure activity; potentiation, by contrast, produces anxiolytic actions, sedation and sleep.

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Figure 1: Relationships between some of the known neuroactive steroids.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Administration Medical Center and University of California, San Diego, 92161, California, USA

    Karen T. Britton

  2. the Department of Neuropharmacology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, 92037, California, USA

    George F. Koob

Authors
  1. Karen T. Britton
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  2. George F. Koob
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Britton, K., Koob, G. Premenstrual steroids?. Nature 392, 869–870 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/31816

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