Estrogen for Depression in Menopausal Women?

When depressed menopausal women plan to use estrogen therapy, should physicians delay specific antidepressant interventions to see whether the hormonal therapy will improve mood and cognitive symptoms? Two recent preclinical studies provide relevant data.

Suzuki and colleagues (with some industry support) tested the effects of estrogen and an estrogen-β receptor (ERβ) agonist on tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) expression in serotonin neurons in the dorsal raphe. Wild-type mice were ovariectomized (OVX) and at 1, 3, and 10 weeks postsurgery received implants of estrogen, an ERβ agonist, or placebo. Examination of neurons occurred 3 days after implantation. Compared with intact mice, OVX mice had significantly lower TPH expression in dorsal raphe…