Sex steroid hormones and brain function: PET imaging as a tool for research

نویسندگان

  • R Moraga-Amaro
  • A van Waarde
  • J Doorduin
  • E F J de Vries
چکیده

Sex steroid hormones are major regulators of sexual characteristic among species. These hormones, however, are also produced in the brain. Steroidal hormone-mediated signalling via the corresponding hormone receptors can influence brain function at the cellular level and thus affect behaviour and higher brain functions. Altered steroid hormone signalling has been associated with psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and depression. Neurosteroids are also considered to have a neuroprotective effect in neurodegenerative diseases. So far, the role of steroid hormone receptors in physiological and pathological conditions has mainly been investigated post mortem on animal or human brain tissues. To study the dynamic interplay between sex steroids, their receptors, brain function and behaviour in psychiatric and neurological disorders in a longitudinal manner, however, non-invasive techniques are needed. Positron emission tomography (PET) is a non-invasive imaging tool that is used to quantitatively investigate a variety of physiological and biochemical parameters in vivo. PET uses radiotracers aimed at a specific target (eg, receptor, enzyme, transporter) to visualise the processes of interest. In this review, we discuss the current status of the use of PET imaging for studying sex steroid hormones in the brain. So far, PET has mainly been investigated as a tool to measure (changes in) sex hormone receptor expression in the brain, to measure a key enzyme in the steroid synthesis pathway (aromatase) and to evaluate the effects of hormonal treatment by imaging specific downstream processes in the brain. Although validated radiotracers for a number of targets are still warranted, PET can already be a useful technique for steroid hormone research and facilitate the translation of interesting findings in animal studies to clinical trials in patients.

متن کامل
منابع مشابه

Effects of sex steroid hormones on neuromedin S and neuromedin U2 receptor expression following experimental traumatic brain injury

Objective(s): Neuroprotective effects of female gonadal steroids are mediated through several pathways involving multiple peptides and receptors after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Two of these peptides are including the regulatory peptides neuromedin U (NMU) and neuromedin S (NMS), and their common receptor neuromedin U2 receptor (NMUR2). This study investigates the effects of physiological do...

متن کامل

University of Groningen PET imaging of brain sex steroid hormone receptors and the role of estrogen in depression Khayum,

متن کامل

Comparison of state-of-the-art atlas-based bone segmentation approaches from brain MR images for MR-only radiation planning and PET/MR attenuation correction

Introduction: Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging has emerged as a valuable tool in radiation treatment (RT) planning as well as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging owing to its superior soft-tissue contrast. Due to the fact that there is no direct transformation from voxel intensity in MR images into electron density, itchr('39')s crucial to generate a pseudo-CT (Computed Tomography) image ...

متن کامل

18F-FDG PET/CT usefulness vs Tc99m-Tetrofosmin in the assessment of malignant brain gliomas: Report of two cases

Gliomas account for almost 80% of primary malignant brain tumors in adults. Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI) is still the gold standard for diagnosis of brain tumors and brain 99mTc-tetrofosmin Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (99mTc-tetrofosmin-SPECT) has been established as a useful tool for their evaluation. Fluorine-18–2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron emi...

متن کامل

Diagnosis of Brain Tumors Using Amino Acid Transport PET Imaging With 18F- Fluciclovine: A Comparison Study With L-Methyl-11C-Methionine PET Imaging

Objective(s): 18F-fluciclovine (trans-1-amino-3-[18F] fluorocyclobutanecarboxylic acid, [FACBC]) is an artificial amino acid radiotracer used for positron emission tomography (PET) studies, which is metabolically stable in vivo and has a long half-life. It has already been shown that FACBC-PET is useful for glioma imaging. However, there have been no reports evaluating the efficiency of FACBC-P...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من

ذخیره در منابع من قبلا به منابع من ذحیره شده

{@ msg_add @}


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

متن کامل
عنوان ژورنال:

دوره 30  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2018