Study Shows that Estrogen can Provide "Dramatic" Relief of Symptoms of Schizophrenia
A new study done by Australia's Monash University has shown strong positive results with the use of estrogen hormone patches as treatment for schizophrenia in women. The researchers say that the results were strong enough to recommend the treatment widely among women with schizophrenia.
For many decades researchers have noticed how there is much lower incidence of schizophrenia in women between the ages of 18 and 35 than men of the same age. They've also noticed that after age 40 - when estrogen levels in women starts to go down - the incidence of schizophrenia in women begins to rise and ultimately catches up to that of men. In fact it's been found that women tend to get schizophrenia later in life and less severely than men.
One of the leading theories has been that estrogen provides a protective effect for the female brain against schizophrenia. Scientific research and animal studies have confirmed that estrogen is a potent dopamine and serotonin receptor blocker similar to atypical anti-psychotic medications, and estrogen is also a neuroprotective hormone. In fact new research announced this week into estrogen hormone replacement therapy suggests it may even prevent memory loss and Alzheimer's in women.
The Monash University study focused on schizophrenia demonstrated that estrogen hormone patches used to help middle-aged women through menopause can significantly improve the worst symptoms of schizophrenia.
The study, which was presented at a women's mental health conference in Melbourne, Australia, has shown for the first time that the female sex hormone, estrogen (called "oestrogen" in the UK and Australia), "dramatically reduces hallucinations, delusions and thought disorder in women with the severe mental illness".
As part of the study, 102 female patients were recruited and treated with either a moderate dose of estrogen using a skin patch, the same as those used in the common Hormone Replacement Therapy (for women after menopause), or an inactive patch.
"The women who received the hormone patch got remarkably better over the eight-week trial, by making radical improvements in key symptoms," Professor Jayashri Kulkarni said. The professor has been investigating the estrogen/schizophrenia connection for 15 years and has stated that she has shown now that it can work.
Image: Professor Kulkarni, Monash University
Just a few years ago researchers had said that that there was not yet enough evidence to recommend estrogen as a therapy for schizophrenia - but the tide seems to have turned now and at least some of the leading researchers in this area are saying that the evidence is now conclusive and use can begin.
We recommend readers print out the news story at the link immediately below and discuss it with your doctor. Additional good news is that estrogen pills are widely available in pharmacies around the world and can be relatively inexpensive (but we haven't done an exhaustive cost analysis). Here is a list of estrogen medications from drugstore.com (of course you would need a doctor's prescription). If you try this new therapy, please post a note below in the comments area and let us know how it goes. It sounds like an important development.
Read more: Sex hormone 'can relieve schizophrenia' (The Age newspaper, Australia)
Research Source: The research is to be published in the Archives of General Psychiatry in the very near future. It is not yet available online.
Related Reading:
Relationship between estrogen and schizophrenia
Estrogen for schizophrenia - Cochrane Reviews, 2005
Estrogen And Schizophrenia: Any Link?
Estrogen and Schizophrenia: How does estrogen protect women from becoming psychotic?
The role of estrogen in schizophrenia
Special Thanks to Tim for leading us to this story.
Posted by szadmin at March 25, 2008 09:29 AM
More Information on
Complementary Schizophrenia Treatments
This news brings a feeling of hope and comfort.
Posted by: Randhir Sidhu at March 26, 2008 11:45 AM
Well, maybe it will work for schizophrenia. I found DHEA somewhat helpful if I used it to counter daily stressors. It could be that a patch provides a time released dosage of estrogen to balance the bodies hormones against stressors and relieve the symptoms of schizophrenia in women. My theory is that the 2005 studies done with DHEA in hospital settings are not conculsive because the patients daily stress stituations do not change and there is little change in diet. So the DHEA becomes ineffective after a couple of weeks. There is something going on with the bodies sensitive response in the endocrine system and hormones related to daily stressors and the symptoms of schizophrenia.
Posted by: ken1 at March 26, 2008 04:50 PM
This is very interesting. I'd like to read more research on the subject as I personaly have known women who dealt with sz symptom that were just as bad if not worse than what many men go through, But that being said, I have certainly met and read about more men dealing with strong sz symptoms than women. As a psych major, I'd love to read more about this, and trust me I will be doing some digging on this.
But, I can't help but think - What about men? Men are given estrogen in some cases for cetain conditions. I wonder if they have considered if estrogen therapy would work for men with sz. Of course it might simply not work. But if it did show improvements I wonder how many men would be willing to do it and deal with the side effects?
Back to the article. What I do NOT understand is why it took "15 years" of research to conduct such a simple, basic trial? Something tells me there must have been other trials not mentioned here that were not as sucessful. Far too often in this feild - professionals claim to have a find (that they can market and/or improve their own status) when only one study out of ten shows the results they are looking for. I mean come one, it took 15 years to do that trial/study with the 102 women?
Posted by: DSME at March 27, 2008 05:41 AM
I agree with the person making the second comment on this story. Something tells me (and it's not research studies) that psychotic symptoms are highly correlated to endocrine disturbance. This correlation shows up in hormonal levels and imbalances, but also in glycemia levels, which can also be tied in to endocrine disturbances.
Posted by: Debra at March 30, 2008 03:02 AM
This ties in with what I've always thought. My son started to get ill at 14 and I maintain it's to do with hormone levels during puberty. Anyone clever enough to have taken this up scientifically?
Posted by: sheila at April 6, 2008 03:46 AM
I also think my son was getting ill,when he was going thur puberty.I also think it was due to hormone levels.
Posted by: sharon at April 16, 2008 04:33 PM
If male schizophrenics brains are feminized and female sz masulinized then perhaps testosterone would lessen symptoms for male schizophrenics.
Posted by: Josh at April 17, 2008 01:07 AM
Maybe it's not the estrogenic effects on neurotransmitters per se, but the effect of LOWERING testosterone's effects by countering it with this hormone.
Testosterone, cortisol, and insulin are all tightly linked in the body with many overlapping features, and each of those are also implicated in stress, anger/aggressiveness, metabolic syndrome, lower brain levels of BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor), and neuronal death. That may explain why males tend to get it during their "sexual peak" years (around 18, when they're oozing testosterone), and women tend to get it when their testosterone ratio is unfavorably balanced later on.
Oh, and metabolic syndrome is often found in patients prior to treatment (thus the insulin/BDNF connection).
So is it really the estrogen, or is the estrogen warding off the detrimental effects of testosterone, which is actually to blame for the mental deterioration?
I'm a female and I don't have schizophrenia, but I did have one prodromal symptom awhile back when I drastically changed my diet in order to gain the muscle mass I lost to my sedentary lifestyle and small, but new belly fat. I was eating a ton of eggs and dairy all the time--especially yogurt and whey. After that, I read everything I could find about this. Interestingly, in a study by Peet he found that there is a correlation between national intake of dairy, eggs, and especially refined sugar and schizophrenia. Correlation doesn't prove causation, but I was gobsmacked that my sudden prodromal symptom coincided with my dietary shift to constant eggs and dairy, as per this study's finding! I read more about the effects of dairy, and found that it is one of the most insulinogenic foods known, though it's usually touted as low-glycemic. As I mentioned before, insulin and testosterone levels go hand-in-hand in the body. So does fat derived from animal foods--like eggs. Saturated animal fats and refined sugar also are known to lower brain levels of BDNF (as is a lack of exercise).
I am convinced that insulin, metabolic syndrome, and testosterone impede neuronal development and outright destroy neurons at times.
I'm happy that this estrogen therapy works for women. But I wonder if trying to go on a diabetogenic diet would help as well (to lower blood glucose, insulin, and free testosterone).
One more thing: the Peet study that found sugar, eggs, and dairy to be problematic in recorded levels of schizophrenia also found intake of pulses (beans, peas, pod-bearing plants) to be beneficial. Pulses act as potent phytoestrogens, which are like synthetic estrogens in the body. So there is more evidence supporting this article's theory, if not my own.
If you can't afford estrogen therapy, try altering your diet and exercising a bit to lower your insulin/blood sugar/testosterone, and add legumes to your diet, which include fermented soy beans, peas, chickpeas, etc. Be careful of the high lectin content in beans; plant lectins can damage the intestines without you feeling it. You have to prepare the beans properly by fermenting them or soaking them overnight and boiling them.
Posted by: k.a. at April 21, 2008 09:28 PM
I have to add that you can also sprout the beans to decrease the damaging lectin content, while likely retaining the estrogenic properties.
Posted by: k.a. at April 21, 2008 09:37 PM
Early
Schizophrenia Screening Test
This news brings a feeling of hope and comfort.
Posted by: Randhir Sidhu at March 26, 2008 11:45 AM
Well, maybe it will work for schizophrenia. I found DHEA somewhat helpful if I used it to counter daily stressors. It could be that a patch provides a time released dosage of estrogen to balance the bodies hormones against stressors and relieve the symptoms of schizophrenia in women. My theory is that the 2005 studies done with DHEA in hospital settings are not conculsive because the patients daily stress stituations do not change and there is little change in diet. So the DHEA becomes ineffective after a couple of weeks. There is something going on with the bodies sensitive response in the endocrine system and hormones related to daily stressors and the symptoms of schizophrenia.
Posted by: ken1 at March 26, 2008 04:50 PM
This is very interesting. I'd like to read more research on the subject as I personaly have known women who dealt with sz symptom that were just as bad if not worse than what many men go through, But that being said, I have certainly met and read about more men dealing with strong sz symptoms than women. As a psych major, I'd love to read more about this, and trust me I will be doing some digging on this.
But, I can't help but think - What about men? Men are given estrogen in some cases for cetain conditions. I wonder if they have considered if estrogen therapy would work for men with sz. Of course it might simply not work. But if it did show improvements I wonder how many men would be willing to do it and deal with the side effects?
Back to the article. What I do NOT understand is why it took "15 years" of research to conduct such a simple, basic trial? Something tells me there must have been other trials not mentioned here that were not as sucessful. Far too often in this feild - professionals claim to have a find (that they can market and/or improve their own status) when only one study out of ten shows the results they are looking for. I mean come one, it took 15 years to do that trial/study with the 102 women?
Posted by: DSME at March 27, 2008 05:41 AM
I agree with the person making the second comment on this story. Something tells me (and it's not research studies) that psychotic symptoms are highly correlated to endocrine disturbance. This correlation shows up in hormonal levels and imbalances, but also in glycemia levels, which can also be tied in to endocrine disturbances.
Posted by: Debra at March 30, 2008 03:02 AM
This ties in with what I've always thought. My son started to get ill at 14 and I maintain it's to do with hormone levels during puberty. Anyone clever enough to have taken this up scientifically?
Posted by: sheila at April 6, 2008 03:46 AM
I also think my son was getting ill,when he was going thur puberty.I also think it was due to hormone levels.
Posted by: sharon at April 16, 2008 04:33 PM
If male schizophrenics brains are feminized and female sz masulinized then perhaps testosterone would lessen symptoms for male schizophrenics.
Posted by: Josh at April 17, 2008 01:07 AM
Maybe it's not the estrogenic effects on neurotransmitters per se, but the effect of LOWERING testosterone's effects by countering it with this hormone.
Testosterone, cortisol, and insulin are all tightly linked in the body with many overlapping features, and each of those are also implicated in stress, anger/aggressiveness, metabolic syndrome, lower brain levels of BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor), and neuronal death. That may explain why males tend to get it during their "sexual peak" years (around 18, when they're oozing testosterone), and women tend to get it when their testosterone ratio is unfavorably balanced later on.
Oh, and metabolic syndrome is often found in patients prior to treatment (thus the insulin/BDNF connection).
So is it really the estrogen, or is the estrogen warding off the detrimental effects of testosterone, which is actually to blame for the mental deterioration?
I'm a female and I don't have schizophrenia, but I did have one prodromal symptom awhile back when I drastically changed my diet in order to gain the muscle mass I lost to my sedentary lifestyle and small, but new belly fat. I was eating a ton of eggs and dairy all the time--especially yogurt and whey. After that, I read everything I could find about this. Interestingly, in a study by Peet he found that there is a correlation between national intake of dairy, eggs, and especially refined sugar and schizophrenia. Correlation doesn't prove causation, but I was gobsmacked that my sudden prodromal symptom coincided with my dietary shift to constant eggs and dairy, as per this study's finding! I read more about the effects of dairy, and found that it is one of the most insulinogenic foods known, though it's usually touted as low-glycemic. As I mentioned before, insulin and testosterone levels go hand-in-hand in the body. So does fat derived from animal foods--like eggs. Saturated animal fats and refined sugar also are known to lower brain levels of BDNF (as is a lack of exercise).
I am convinced that insulin, metabolic syndrome, and testosterone impede neuronal development and outright destroy neurons at times.
I'm happy that this estrogen therapy works for women. But I wonder if trying to go on a diabetogenic diet would help as well (to lower blood glucose, insulin, and free testosterone).
One more thing: the Peet study that found sugar, eggs, and dairy to be problematic in recorded levels of schizophrenia also found intake of pulses (beans, peas, pod-bearing plants) to be beneficial. Pulses act as potent phytoestrogens, which are like synthetic estrogens in the body. So there is more evidence supporting this article's theory, if not my own.
If you can't afford estrogen therapy, try altering your diet and exercising a bit to lower your insulin/blood sugar/testosterone, and add legumes to your diet, which include fermented soy beans, peas, chickpeas, etc. Be careful of the high lectin content in beans; plant lectins can damage the intestines without you feeling it. You have to prepare the beans properly by fermenting them or soaking them overnight and boiling them.
Posted by: k.a. at April 21, 2008 09:28 PM
I have to add that you can also sprout the beans to decrease the damaging lectin content, while likely retaining the estrogenic properties.
Posted by: k.a. at April 21, 2008 09:37 PM