ALLOPREGNANOLONE IN WOMEN WITH PREMENSTRUAL-SYNDROME

5 alpha-reduced metabolites of progesterone, especially 3 alpha-hydrox y-5 alpha-pregnan-20-one (allopregnanolone) are now listed to neuroste roids. Their anesthetic properties can be explained by their allosteri c interaction with GABA(A) receptors. A woman's organism is provided w ith an abundance of progesterone during the luteal phase of the menstr ual cycle and its level falls down sharply with the first day of mense s. The level of allopregnanolone follows that of progesterone. Many wo men suffer from so called premenstrual syndrome (PMS) during the lutea l phase. In this study we have determined allopregnanolone and progest erone levels and their ratios in order to assess the over-all activity of C-21-steroid 5 alpha-reductase in these patients and in controls. Significantly lower levels of both progesterone and allopregnanolone t han in controls have been found in PMS patients in the follicular phas e only.