Li Rena, Shen Yong
L.J. Roberts Alzheimer Disease's Research Center, Sun Health Research Institute, 10515 West Santa Fe Drive, Sun City, AZ 85351, USA.
Front Biosci. 2005 Jan 1;10:257-67. doi: 10.2741/1525.
This review summaries recent evidence from clinical and basic science studies on estrogen central nervous system. For decades, estrogen was thought of only as a "sex hormone" and plays a fundamental role in regulating behavioral and physiological events. In recent years, accumulated evidence shows that estrogen also plays very important roles in the brain. Recent basic science studies show that estrogen treatment decreases the neuronal response to various forms of insult through the regulation of both estrogen synthesis and estrogen receptor expression in the brain. Some clinical evidence also suggests that estrogen deprivation might be implicated as a risk factor in various neurodegenerative diseases. Estrogen may play a neuroprotective role through estrogen dependent alterations in cell survival, enhancement of synaptic transmission and neurogenesis. Some of the mechanisms underlying these effects are independent of the classical nuclear estrogen receptors and involve direct modulation of neurotransmitter receptor function, or anti-oxidant activities of estrogen. It is controversial whether estrogen is indicated in the prevention or treatment of various brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. The conflicting findings suggest that several variables, including age, estrogen dose and formulation, the length of treatment, may determine whether the potential benefits of estrogen treatment would outweigh the associated risks.
这篇综述总结了近期临床和基础科学研究中关于雌激素与中枢神经系统的证据。几十年来，雌激素一直仅被视为一种“性激素”，在调节行为和生理活动中发挥着基础性作用。近年来，越来越多的证据表明雌激素在大脑中也起着非常重要的作用。近期的基础科学研究表明，雌激素治疗可通过调节大脑中的雌激素合成和雌激素受体表达，降低神经元对各种形式损伤的反应。一些临床证据还表明，雌激素缺乏可能是多种神经退行性疾病的危险因素。雌激素可能通过雌激素依赖的细胞存活改变、突触传递增强和神经发生发挥神经保护作用。这些作用的一些潜在机制独立于经典的核雌激素受体，涉及神经递质受体功能的直接调节或雌激素的抗氧化活性。雌激素是否适用于预防或治疗各种脑部疾病（如阿尔茨海默病）仍存在争议。相互矛盾的研究结果表明，包括年龄、雌激素剂量和剂型、治疗时长在内的几个变量，可能决定雌激素治疗的潜在益处是否会超过相关风险。
