Publications by authors named "E Comasco"
Article Synopsis
- - Progesterone, a lipophilic hormone, has significant effects on female behavior and mental health, particularly through its interaction with brain receptors, especially during key life stages like puberty and menopause.
- - Research indicates that progesterone influences mood regulation, stress response, and cognitive processing, with potential improvements in conditions like premenstrual dysphoric disorder through its modulation of brain activity.
- - The effects of progestins in contraceptives and hormone therapy on brain function and health outcomes (like stroke protection) are not fully understood, and more studies are needed to clarify how different factors (like dosage and timing) impact these effects.
White matter integrity upon progesterone antagonism in individuals with premenstrual dysphoric disorder: A randomized placebo-controlled diffusion tensor imaging study.
Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry
October 2024
Article Synopsis
- PMDD is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome caused by hormonal changes, and the study investigates the effects of selective progesterone receptor modulation (SPRM) on brain white matter in affected patients.
- Researchers used diffusion tensor imaging to compare the effects of ulipristal acetate (an SPRM) and a placebo on white matter integrity before and after treatment in a controlled trial.
- Results showed that SPRM treatment did not significantly change white matter structure compared to placebo, although there were some differences in measurements that warrant further exploration.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the link between telomere length (TL) and peripartum depression (PPD), examining how adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and genetic variations affect this relationship.
- Results indicate that shorter TL is associated with more severe PPD symptoms, particularly at pregnancy week 32 and six weeks postpartum, highlighting a potential biological marker for understanding PPD.
- ACE plays a significant role in moderating the TL-PPD connection, with individuals experiencing greater ACE showing a more pronounced shortening of TL in persistent PPD cases compared to healthy controls.
Background: Sex differences exist in the prevalence and clinical manifestation of several mental disorders, suggesting that sex-specific brain phenotypes may play key roles. Previous research used machine learning models to classify sex from imaging data of the whole brain and studied the association of class probabilities with mental health, potentially overlooking regional specific characteristics.
Methods: We here investigated if a regionally constrained model of brain volumetric imaging data may provide estimates that are more sensitive to mental health than whole brain-based estimates.
Background: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is hypothesized to stem from maladaptive neural sensitivity to ovarian steroid hormone fluctuations. Recently, we found thinner cortices in individuals with PMDD, compared to healthy controls, during the symptomatic phase. Here, we aimed at investigating whether such differences illustrate state-like characteristics specific to the symptomatic phase, or trait-like features defining PMDD.
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