Progesterone functional aspects

Neurosteroids appear to mainly function as neurotransmitters in a paracrine and autocrine fashion in the modulation of many brain functions including myelination, inhibition of neuronal toxicity and ischemia, behavioral aspects, and neuronal survival, growth, and differentiation (Griffin et ah, 2004 Mellon et ah, 2004 Mellon, 2007 Mukai et ah, 2006). Such neurosteroids include progesterone, pregnenolone, allopregnanolone, DHEA, their sulfate esters, and 5ot/5p-tetrahydroprogesterone, some of which were previously viewed as inactive metabolites or steroid precursors (Plassart-Schiess and Baulieu, 2001 Sakamoto et ah, 2007). 

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