The Decrease of Progesterone Through Menopause and Stress

    In “Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and related mechanisms that mediate and influence progesterone-induced neuroprotection”, by Meharvan Singh, Vignesh R. Krishnamoorth, Seongcheol Kim, Saira Khurana and Heather M. LaPorte the role of progesterone in non-reproductive functions is examined. Progesterone is demonstrated as having protective effects in the brain. There are classical progesterone receptors and membrane progesterone receptors in the brain, and they are specifically located in the cerebral cortex and in the hippocampus (Singh et al., 2024). With progesterone-induced neuroprotection, Pgmrc1 and “the classical progesterone receptor (PR)” are expressed, and progesterone can increase Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is reliant on PR. PR and Pgmrc1 are very important for progesterone’s effects on keeping the cells healthy (Singh et al., 2024). Progesterone is protective against neurodegenerative diseases, and there are positive “effects of progesterone on spinal cord contusion injuries”. Along with this progesterone can encourage re-myelination. Progesterone can enhance effective recovery with some limitations to progesterone’s protectiveness. As progesterone can increase BDNF, it also has a critical role in encouraging brain health by reinforcing synaptic plasticity and keeping cells healthy, or viable. So, like progesterone, BDNF also has protective qualities (Singh et al., 2024). BDNF is important for synaptic plasticity and supporting cell viability, so it is important for neuronal survival and growth, and its expression is increased by progesterone (Singh et al., 2024).   

The article Cortisol and Progesterone: Hormonal Balance Explained, discusses the correlation between progesterone production and stress. Chronic stress reduces the amount of progesterone and, instead, results in an increase in cortisol production because the production of cortisol is increased by potentially sacrificing the production of progesterone (NeuroLaunch editorial team, 2024). Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, is produced by the adrenal gland (Cassoobhoy, 2017). Chronic stress can lead to a prolonged decrease of progesterone as there are not enough resources for its production (NeuroLaunch editorial team, 2024). During chronic stress the hypothalamic- pituitary- axis, which regulates cortisol and progesterone, is disrupted (NeuroLaunch editorial team, 2024). This imbalance of cortisol and progesterone equates to the decrease in neuroprotective qualities of progesterone.  

Menopause and stress both lead to the decrease of progesterone, and in turn, both decrease progesterone’s neuroprotective properties. The increase of stress and decrease of progesterone is shown to have an inverse relationship, and BDNF and progesterone have a direct relationship in that progesterone can increase BDNF. If progesterone decreases, there is potential that BDNF may also decrease because progesterone can impact the levels of BDNF. Menopause and stress not only impact progesterone levels, along with BDNF levels, but also, all the neuroprotective properties progesterone presents and those it influences. Singh shows how progesterone decreases during menopause, and the article Cortisol and Progesterone: Hormonal Balance Explained shows how chronic stress decreases progesterone.  

References 

Cassoobhoy, A. (2017, February 6). What Is Cortisol? WebMD; WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-cortisol 

NeuroLaunch editorial team. (2024, August 18). Cortisol and Progesterone: Hormonal Balance Explained. NeuroLaunch.com. https://neurolaunch.com/cortisol-and-progesterone/ 

Singh, M., Krishnamoorthy, V. R., Kim, S., Khurana, S., & LaPorte, H. M. (2024). Brain-derived neuerotrophic factor and related mechanisms that mediate and influence progesterone-induced neuroprotection. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2024.1286066