ESTROGEN MAY HELP COMBAT SCHIZOPHRENIA

Women are generally prescribed estrogen to fight menopause related effects like bone loss and mood swings. Now, a new study has claimed the hormone replacement therapy might also protect them from schizophrenia.

The Tel Aviv University study suggested that restoring normal levels of estrogen may work as a protective agent in menopausal women vulnerable to schizophrenia. “We’ve known for some time that when the level of estrogen is low, vulnerability to psychotic symptoms increases and anti-psychotic drugs are less likely to work. Now, our preclinical findings show why this might be happening,” said Professor Ina Weiner, who led the research, based on an animal model.

In their study, Weiner and her colleague Michal Arad removed the ovaries of female rats to induce menopause-like low levels of estrogen and showed that this led to schizophrenia-like behaviour. They then tried to eliminate this abnormal behaviour with an estrogen replacement treatment or with the antipsychotic drug haloperidol.

They found that estrogen replacement therapy effectively alleviated schizophrenia-like behaviour but haloperidol had no effect on its own. Haloperidol regained its effect in these rats when supplemented by estrogen.