The Neurosteroid Allopregnanolone is Reduced in Prefrontal Cortex in Alzheimer’s Disease
Allopregnanolone is considered one of the most potent GABA agonist on the planet, natural or synthetic. This means it has a potent ability to calm the brain cells down. Allopregnanolone is derived from progesterone. So how would what is thought of as a reproductive-age hormone affect the brain later in life? Actually the potential for interactions are great.
First, we know that the damage with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s start decades before symptoms, putting the time frames for beginning damage well into the reproductive years.In addition, Alzheimer’s is very strongly associated with insulin resistance, and IR is well known to inhibit ovulation and lower levels of progesterone. The bottom line, however, is the same as always–prevention of these age related chronic diseases begins decades earlier, and the approach to lowering risk is multifactorial.