Examples of Key Discoveries from ICON-✘ Collaborators:
1
Sex differences in stress circuitry activity in the brain are significantly associated with stage of women's menstrual cycles. (Goldstein et al., 2010)
2
Circulating estradiol has significant effects on brain activity in response to stress, which is dysregulated in major depression. (Goldstein et al., 2005; Jacobs and Goldstein, 2018)
3
In response to prenatal exposure to maternal stress in rodent models, sex differences in offspring brain development and physiology were significant with respect to regions regulating stress, arousal, mood, anxiety, cardiovascular, and neuroendocrine function. (McClellan et al., 2010; Zuloaga et al; Frahm and Tobet, 2012)
4
The androgen metabolite, 3β-androstanediol, activates in hypothalamus one of the primary estrogen receptor forms ER beta (ERβ) that inhibits our response to stress. This novel concept altered our thinking about androgen and estrogen signaling and the importance of ERβ (regarding inhibitory effects) vs. ER alpha (ERα), that has stimulatory effects in hypothalamus. (Lund et al., 2006)
5
Estrogen status impacts neuropsychiatric and bone outcomes in adolescents and young adult women. Physiologic estrogen replacement in hypogonadal young women with functional hypothalamic amenorrhea improves verbal memory, executive function, trait anxiety, drive for thinness and body dissatisfaction. (Madhusmita Misra et al., 2013).
See also:
- "Estrogen Replacement Improves Verbal Memory and Executive Control in Oligomenorrheic / Amenorrheic Athletes in a Randomized Controlled Trial" (Charumathi Baskaran et al., 2017)
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"Estrogen administration improves the trajectory of eating disorder pathology in oligo-amenorrheic athletes: A randomized controlled trial" (Franziska Plessow et al., 2019)
Estrogen also significantly improves bone outcomes as assessed using the DXA scan and high resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (Kathryn E Ackerman, Vibha Singhal, Madhusmita Misra, Anne Klibanski, Hang Lee, Karen Miller, 2019)
6
Verbal memory and executive function are impaired in conditions of hypothalamic amenorrhea (such as with intensive athletics), and improve following estradiol hormone replacement. (Baskaran et al., 2017)