Brain : a journal of neurology
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Steroid sex hormones are potential neuroprotective candidates following CNS injury. All clinical trials to date have examined the effects of oestrogen alone or oestrogen-progestin combination therapy. Experimental studies have suggested that progesterone, in its own right, is a potential neuroprotective agent following acute cerebral injury. ⋯ No studies using models of cerebral ischaemia or TBI assessed efficacy when progesterone was administered at later than 6 h following the onset of cerebral injury. Limited data were available for different groups of animals according to age/hormonal status and the full dose-response relationship was not available in all experimental groups. Although this systematic review provides some supporting evidence for a neuroprotective role of progesterone following either cerebral ischaemia or TBI importantly it highlights areas which need further pre-clinical investigation.