Abstract
Rationale
The behavioral effects of allopregnanolone (3α-hydroxy-5α-pregnan-20-one) in women are not known.
Objective
Allopregnanolone, a neuroactive steroid secreted by the mammalian ovary, exerts its anesthetic, anxiolytic, and sedative/hypnotic effects through potentiation of GABAA receptors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the behavioral effects of allopregnanolone in healthy women.
Methods
Ten healthy women were given three increasing intravenous doses of allopregnanolone in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Saccadic eye movement parameters and visual analogue scales of sedation were used to evaluate the behavioral response of allopregnanolone. Repeated blood samples for analyses of allopregnanolone were drawn throughout the study day.
Results
Exogenously administered allopregnanolone decreases saccadic eye movement parameters and increases subjective ratings of sedation that correlate with increased serum concentrations of this neuroactive steroid.
Conclusion
The behavioral effects of allopregnanolone are similar to that of its 5β-stereoisomer, pregnanolone (3α-hydroxy-5β-pregnan-20-one). Apart from fatigue and mild nausea, allopregnanolone given in a cumulative dose of 0.09 mg/kg did not have any adverse effects.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council, medicine proj. 4X-11198, EU structural fund objective 1 program, the Astrid Karlsson Foundation, and the Tore Nilsson Foundation.
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Timby, E., Balgård, M., Nyberg, S. et al. Pharmacokinetic and behavioral effects of allopregnanolone in healthy women. Psychopharmacology 186, 414–424 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-005-0148-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-005-0148-7