Polymorphisms in oestrogen and progesterone receptor genes: possible influence on prolactin levels in women.

Objective: Oestrogen and progesterone are known to influence the release of human prolactin. The present study was undertaken in order to investigate the possible influence of polymorphisms of the genes encoding the oestrogen receptor (ER)alpha, ERbeta and the progesterone receptor (PGR), on prolactin levels in premenopausal women.

Design And Measurements: Serum levels of prolactin were measured in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle.

Association between estrus cycle-related aggression and tidal volume variability in female Wistar rats.

Premenstrual dysphoria is characterized by symptoms such as irritability and depressed mood, present during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, and disappearing shortly after the onset of menstruation. Subjects with premenstrual dysphoria have previously been reported to display enhanced respiratory variability, and to experience anxiety when exposed to panicogens, such as CO2. In the present study, the possible influence of the estrus cycle and estrus cycle-related aggression on respiratory variability was investigated in female rats of the Wistar strain.

Association between a functional polymorphism in the progesterone receptor gene and panic disorder in women.

Although genetic factors are known to be important risk factors for panic disorder there is as yet no conclusive data regarding specific gene variants. Prompted by evidence supporting progesterone to influence the pathophysiology of panic disorder, polymorphisms in the progesterone receptor gene, a single nucleotide polymorphism (G331A) and an insertion/deletion polymorphism (PROGINS) were investigated in 72 patients with panic disorder and 452 controls. The frequency of the A-allele of the G331A polymorphism was higher in panic disorder patients than in controls (p = 0.

Association between estrus cycle-related changes in respiration and estrus cycle-related aggression in outbred female Wistar rats.

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is characterized by irritability surfacing during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, and disappearing shortly after the onset of menstruation. Although the cardinal symptoms of premenstrual dysphoria are different from those of panic disorder, the two conditions share a number of traits indicating that they both may be associated with abnormalities in the regulation of respiration. Both subjects with panic disorder and subjects with premenstrual dysphoria are hence reported to display enhanced respiratory variability, and to experience anxiety when exposed to CO(2).

Respiratory responses to intravenous infusion of sodium lactate in male and female Wistar rats.

In patients with panic disorder or premenstrual dysphoria, anxiety attacks can be triggered by intravenous administration of sodium lactate. Since respiratory symptoms, such as hyperventilation and shortness of breath, are characteristic features of spontaneous as well as lactate-induced panic, an involvement of central or peripheral chemoreceptors in this reaction has been suggested. In the present study, we examined to what extent intravenous infusion of sodium lactate influences respiratory parameters in freely moving male and female Wistar rats.

Increased insulin sensitivity and decreased body weight in female rats after postnatal corticosterone exposure.

Objective: Glucocorticoids are important for normal brain development. Elevation or removal of these hormones can permanently modify the structure and function of the fetal brain. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of postnatal corticosterone exposure of female pups on metabolic, endocrine and anthropometric variables in adulthood.

Diagnosis and treatment of premenstrual dysphoria.

Premenstrual dysphoria (PMD) is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome afflicting 5% to 10% of all fertile women. Cardinal symptoms--appearing regularly between ovulation and menstruation and disappearing within a few days after the onset of the bleeding--are depressed mood, tension, affect lability, and irritability. Of these symptoms, irritability is often the most prominent.

Postnatal endotoxin exposure results in increased insulin sensitivity and altered activity of neuroendocrine axes in adult female rats.

Objectives: Severe postnatal infection leads to a systemic inflammatory response with release of cytokines and glucocorticoids, representing a stressful event for the newborn child. The purpose of this study was to mimic this situation and to study the effects of early postnatal endotoxin exposure of female rat pups on metabolic, endocrine and anthropometric variables in adulthood.

Design: Female pups were given subcutaneous injections of lipopolysaccharides (LPS; Salmonella enteriditis, 0.