Progesterone exerts neuroprotective effects after brain injury

Progesterone, although still widely considered primarily a sex hormone, is an important agent affecting many central nervous system functions. This review assesses recent, primarily in vivo, evidence that progesterone can play an important role in promoting and enhancing repair after traumatic brain injury and stroke. Although many of its specific actions on neuroplasticity remain to be discovered, there is growing evidence that this hormone may be a safe and effective treatment for traumatic brain injury and other neural disorders in humans. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.