Endocrine Abstracts

Re-myelination in the adult CNS has been demonstrated in different experimental models of demyelinating diseases. However, there is no clear evidence that re-myelination is effective in multiple sclerosis (MS), the most diffuse demyelinating disease. Moreover, chronic disabilities in MS are believed to be due to remyelination failure and consequent neuron damage and degeneration. Due to the presence of numerous oligodendrocyte precursors inside demyelination plaques, reasons f...

Sex hormones act both as endocrine signals as well as local paracrine or autocrine factors in the nervous system. In addition to target to classical endocrine and reproductive brain areas, sex hormones and its metabolites affect learning and cognition and regulate the development and plasticity of brain regions that are not directly related to reproduction. Estrogen and progesterone exert neuroprotective effects in the central nervous system and may affect the onset and progre...

The transition to the postmenopausal stage is associated with an increased risk for vascular diseases, including myocardial infarction and stroke. This has been linked to a decrease in estrogen production. Estrogens mediate their effects on the brain to a major extent through binding to nuclear receptors, estrogen receptor alpha and beta. It is possible that positive and adverse effects of estrogens are related to interactions between receptor genotypes and hormones. Notably, ...

Ageing is associated with a decline in immunity, also termed immunesenescence. This is paralleled by a decline in the production of several hormones as typically illustrated by the menopausal loss of ovarian oestrogen production. This lecture will give a brief overview of the physiology and pathophysiology of steroid hormones that decline with ageing. Therein a specific focus will be laid on the ageing-associated decline in adrenal dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) production, an ...