Division of Comparative Medicine, Oregon National Primate Research Center, 505 NW 185th Avenue, Beaverton, OR, 97006, USA.
Department of Computer Science, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97356, Waco, TX, 76798, USA.
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2019 Jun;236(6):1817-1828. doi: 10.1007/s00213-019-5168-9. Epub 2019 Jan 15.
Sporadic reports of alcohol consumption being linked to menstrual cycle phase highlight the need to consider hormonally characterized menstrual cycle phase in understanding the sex-specific effects of risk for alcohol drinking in women.
We investigated the association between menstrual cycle phase, characterized by circulating progesterone and menses, with accurate daily alcohol intakes in rhesus monkeys, and the contribution of progesterone derived neuroactive steroids to cycle-related alcohol drinking.
Menses (daily) and progesterone (2-3×/week) were obtained in female monkeys (n = 8, 5 ethanol, 3 control) for 12-18 months. Ethanol monkeys were then induced to drink ethanol (4% w/v; 3 months) and given 22 h/day access to ethanol and water for approximately 1 year. In selected cycles, a panel of neuroactive steroids were assayed during follicular and luteal phases from pre-ethanol and ethanol exposure.
There were minimal to no effects of ethanol on menstrual cycle length, progesterone levels, and follicular or luteal phase length. The monkeys drank more ethanol during the luteal phase, compared to the follicular phase, and ethanol intake was highest in the late luteal phase when progesterone declines rapidly. Two neuroactive steroids were higher during the luteal phase versus the follicular phase, and several neuroactive steroids were higher in the pre- vs. post-ethanol drinking menstrual cycles.
This is the first study to show that normal menstrual cycle fluctuations in progesterone, particularly during the late luteal phase, can modulate ethanol intake. Two of 11 neuroactive steroids were selectively associated with the effect of cycle progesterone on ethanol drinking, suggesting possible links to CNS mechanisms of ethanol intake control.
关于饮酒与月经周期阶段相关的零星报告强调了在理解女性饮酒风险的性别特异性影响时，需要考虑激素特征的月经周期阶段。
我们研究了月经周期阶段（通过循环孕酮和月经来特征化）与恒河猴准确的每日酒精摄入量之间的关联，以及孕酮衍生的神经活性类固醇对与周期相关的饮酒行为的贡献。
在 12-18 个月的时间内，对雌性猴子（n=8，5 只乙醇组，3 只对照组）进行月经（每日）和孕酮（每 2-3 天/周）的检测。然后，将乙醇组猴子诱导饮酒（4%w/v；3 个月），并让它们每天 22 小时接触乙醇和水，大约持续 1 年。在选定的周期中，在乙醇暴露前和暴露期间，从卵泡期和黄体期检测了一组神经活性类固醇。
乙醇对月经周期长度、孕酮水平以及卵泡期和黄体期长度几乎没有影响。与卵泡期相比，猴子在黄体期饮酒更多，并且在孕酮迅速下降的黄体后期，乙醇摄入量最高。与卵泡期相比，两种神经活性类固醇在黄体期更高，并且在乙醇摄入前后的月经周期中，几种神经活性类固醇更高。
这是第一项研究表明，孕酮的正常月经周期波动，特别是在黄体后期，可以调节乙醇的摄入。在 11 种神经活性类固醇中，有两种与孕酮对乙醇摄入的影响呈选择性相关，这表明与中枢神经系统的乙醇摄入控制机制可能存在联系。
