breakthrough?

[scorpion]

In the early stages.....

MS breakthrough for U of A researchers?

Increasing steroids in the brains of multiple sclerosis patients may regress and possibly even cure the disease, researchers at the University of Alberta said Wednesday.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2011/09/21/m ... esearchers

[Lyon]

,,

[rainer]

Interesting but not many details. I always wonder how this disease would progress if treated more proactively and with immediate response to relapses and activity.

[MSUK]

Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) may have impaired production of important neurosteroid molecules in their brains, so replacement therapy could be helpful, researchers said.

Autopsy findings from 16 MS patients showed high expression of micro-RNA molecules in white matter that suppress enzymes responsible for neurosteroid synthesis, particularly allopregnanolone, according to Christopher Power, MD, of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, and colleagues.

The researchers also confirmed that levels of allopregnanolone and other steroids were depressed in the MS patients' white matter, they reported online in Brain.... Read More - http://www.msrc.co.uk/index.cfm/fuseact ... geid/3232/

[KateCW]

I wonder what neurologists will say when we start calling them this morning as the researcher suggests? Particularly those of us in the same province?

Anybody here in the study?

[Quest56]

Here's the pubmed link:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21908875

[Shayk]

Scorpion--Thanks for posting this. I don’t know whether or not I’d label it a breakthrough but I’m definitely pleased that they took a look at the level of neurosteroids in MS brains as I’ve been interested in hormones and their relationship to MS (or not) for a long time.

Neurosteroids include what are commonly thought of as the sex hormones. They garnered the name “neurosteroids” because instead of being produced by the gonads they are made de novo “in the brain, by the brain, for the brain” as one researcher said. So, it’s an interesting find that in the brains of people with MS there are lower levels of some of them. Research suggests they may provide powerful neuroprotection.

In the research here they found that allopregnanolone (and other neurosteroids) were lower in MS patient brains. Allopregnanolone is a metabolite of the hormone progesterone.

I sense that you have something of an interest in stem cells so you might be interested in this info:

Stem cells with neurogenic potential and steroid hormones] (full text available)

Although the initially identified actions of estradiol, progesterone and testosterone are related to sexual reproductive functions, recent evidence shows that these steroid hormones modulate development, physiology and survival of nerve cells.

Furthermore, neurosteroids can be synthesized in the developing and adult nervous system.

The main focus of this review is to summarize the described effects of steroid hormones (progesterone, allopregnanolone, dehydroepiandrosterone, estradiol and androgens) on cell parameters relevant to stem cells

steroid hormones influence stem cell behavior by several mechanisms

in some instances, these hormones can substitute or modulate the action of growth factors, and also directly influence self-renewal, proliferation, differentiation or cell death of neurogenic stem cells

Questor—Thanks for posting the abstract. With your interest in neuroprotection you may be interested in a couple of articles:

Neuroprotection of sex steroids full article available and

Mechanism of progesterone neuroprotection of rat cerebellar Purkinje cells following oxygen-glucose deprivation full article available

Progesterone potentiates GABA(A) receptor activity indirectly through its metabolites, such as allopregnanolone (ALLO).

For all you guys out there take note—men also synthesize progesterone:

Progesterone as a neuroprotective factor in traumatic and ischemic brain injury

Laboratories around the world have shown that progesterone and allopregnanolone act through numerous metabolic and physiological pathways that can affect the injury response in many different tissues and organ systems.

Furthermore, progesterone is a natural hormone, synthesized in both males and females, that can act as a pro-drug for other metabolites with their own distinct mode of action in CNS repair.

Rainer--I definitely agree about being pro-active in treating MS.

KateCW.—I wonder if they were referring to the estriol and progesterone trials? Or, if perhaps they thought that neuros might start recommending progesterone (it’s available over the counter). I am not in either trial but I am on 8 mg of estriol and 500 mg of progesterone (I had none when my hormone levels were tested—and contrary to the suggestion in the article that whatever it is they’re talking about would be oral, I personally found that oral progesterone did not raise my progesterone levels, but progesterone as a cream did.)

And, if anyone even considers pursuing this in any way I highly recommend that you first have your hormone levels tested to be certain that you try to achieve balanced levels of all of them.

That’s it for the moment…will be interesting to follow this.

Take care all

Sharon

[CVfactor]

It is interesting to note that Vitamin D is in fact a steroid hormone and the strong link there is with MS and people who are deficient in D.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steroid_hormone

[cheerleader]

also interesting....aging brains, Alzheimer's brains and brains with hypoxic injury are lower in neurosteroids.
The HPA axis appears to be disrupted, as it is in those with hippocampal atrophy and depression-
MS and cerebral hypoxia are noted to have hippocampal atrophy as well. Lots of connections....
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17928160

The researchers also found a relationship between this atrophy and hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a complex set of interactions among three glands. The HPA axis is part of the neuroendocrine system that controls reactions to stress and regulates many physiological processes. It's thought that this dysregulation may play a role in the atrophy of the hippocampus and the development of depression.

"Depression is one of the most common symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis," Gold said. "It impacts cognitive function, quality of life, work performance and treatment compliance. Worst of all, it's also one of the strongest predictors of suicide."

The researchers examined three sub-regions of the hippocampus region ― CA1, CA3 and the dentate gyrus area of the hippocampal region called CA23DG (CA stands for cornu ammonis). They imaged 29 patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis and compared them with 20 healthy control subjects who did not have MS. They also measured participants' cortisol level three times a day; cortisol is a major stress hormone produced by the HPA axis that affects many tissues in the body, including the brain.
n addition to the difference between MS patients and healthy controls, the researchers found that the multiple sclerosis patients diagnosed with depression showed a smaller CA23DG sub-region of the hippocampus, along with excessive release of cortisol from the HPA axis.

"Interestingly, this idea of a link between excessive activity of the HPA axis and reduced brain volume in the hippocampus hasn't received a lot of attention, despite the fact that the most consistently reproduced findings in psychiatric patients with depression (but without MS) include hyperactivity of the HPA axis and smaller volumes of the hippocampus," Sicotte said.

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/br ... 61190.aspx
I wish the researchers would ask "why?"
Thanks for that well-researched post, Shayk!
cheer

[scorpion]

Hypoxia makes the world go round right? Can i just say TIMS is not a place for your hypoxia soapbox? Doubt it.

[cheerleader]

my post was more about hippocampal atrophy, which occurs in MS, Alzheimers and depressed and hypoxic brains, and affects neurosteroid levels.
Stress is not good for your neurosteroids, scorpion. Neither is anger.
take a deep breath...
cheer


Neurosteroids, brain damage, and mental illness

The steroidal environment of the brain has marked consequences for both its structure and function. Social or physical stress has deleterious results on hippocampal function. This can be replicated by raising corticoids, which are also highly responsive to stress. Corticosterone, the major glucocorticoid in the rat, induces neuronal death in primary hippocampal cultures. Elevated corticoids also induce mood changes, and these are well known to be associated with stress, particularly chronic stress such as social adversity accentuated by intercurrent aversive life events. DHEA, a second adrenal steroid, has a very different developmental history, increasing rapidly during childhood, reaching a peak in youth, and declining thereafter in both blood and CSF. DHEA, in contrast to corticoids, has brain protective actions. It reduces the neurotoxic actions of glutamate analogues (such as NMDA) as well as those of corticoids. Evidence from several sources suggests that DHEA can act as an antiglucocorticoid. DHEA levels are reduced in major depressive disorders in both adolescents and adults, and a raised cortisol/DHEA ratio (together with intercurrent life events) predicts delayed recovery. DHEA may have a role in the treatment of depression. Together, these findings suggest that altered steroidal environment, whether induced by stress or aging, can have appreciable results on the cellular structure of the brain as well as on its function, although links between the two sets of findings are still tentative.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 6598000394

[scorpion]

Anger increases blood flow to my head so it is a good thing right? That is it!!!!! Anger as a treatment for MS!!!! Now just to come up with an idea to market it. Hmmmmmm

[Liberation]

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