Bibliography for Pregnenolone
Crook TH, Adderly B. The Memory Cure. New York, NY: Simon and Shuster; 1998.
Flood JF, Morley JE, Roberts E. Memory-enhancing effects in male mice of pregnenolone and steroids metabolically derived from it. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1992 Mar 1;89(5):1567-71.
Flood JF, Morley JE, Roberts E. Pregnenolone sulfate enhances posttraining memory processes when injected in very low doses into limbic system structures: amygdala is by far the most sensitive. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA1995 Nov 7;92(23):10806-10.
Freeman H, Pincus G, Bachrach S, et al. Therapeutic efficacy of delta 5 pregnenolone in rheumatoid arthritis. JAMA 1950; 143:338-44.
George MS, Guidotti A, Rubinow D, et al. CSF neuroactive steroids in affective disorders: pregnenolone, progesterone and DBI. Biol Psychiatry 1994;35(10):775-80.
CSF from mood-disordered and normal controls was analyzed. Depressed subjects had lower CSF pregnenolone. Pregnenolone was lower in all affectively ill subjects regardless of mood state on the LP day. No differences were found for CSF progesterone.
Guth L, Zhang Z, Roberts E. Key role for pregnenolone in combination therapy that promotes recovery after spinal cord injury. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1994 Dec 6;91 (25):12308-12.
McGavack TH, Chevalley J, Weissberg J. The use Delta 5 pregnenolone in various clinical disorders. J Clin Endocrinol 1951;11(6):559-77.
Pregnenolone causes no toxic effects in rats even at very high doses and appears equally harmless in man. It has been found effective in ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis. Pregnenolone was given to 59 patients, 30 of whom had arthritis. Dose was 250mg/day on average by injection. 6/11 with RA showed mod. to marked improvement. A young woman with Still’s disease had a remarkable improvement. Pregnenolone was effective in about half of all types of arthritis. 3 out of 4 patients with SLE showed mod. to marked improvement. Two women with scleroderma had a definite improvement. 1 of 3 men with psoriasis had marked improvement. No effect in Addison’s disease. 4 patients with malignant exopthalmos following thyroidectomy showed remarkable improvements. Doses up to 600mg appeared necessary in some cases. It appeared most beneficial when there was an ongoing inflammatory reaction. Improvement took 3 to 5 weeks
Meziane H, Mathis C, Paul SM, Ungerer A. The neurosteroid pregnenolone sulfate reduces learning deficits induced by scopamine and has promnestic effects in mice performing an appetitive learning task. Neuropharmacology 1996;126(4):323-30.
Pincus G, Hoagland H. Effects of administered pregnenolone on fatiguing psychomotor performance. J Aviat. Med. 1944;15:98-115. Pincus G, Hoagland H. Effects on industrial production of the administration of delta 5 pregnenolone to factory workers. I. Psychosomatic Med. 1945;7:342-46.
Schumacher M, Akwa Y, Guennoun R, Robert F, Labombarda F, Desarnaud F, Robel P, De Nicola AF, Baulieu EE. Steroid synthesis and metabolism in the nervous system: trophic and protective effects. J Neurocytol 2000 May-June;29(5-6):307-26.
Steiger A, Trachsel L, Guldner J, et al. Neurosteroid pregnenolone induces sleep-EEG changes in man compatible with inverse agonistic GABA-receptor modulation. Brain Res 1993;615:267-74.
Sternberg TH, LeVan P, Wright ET The hydrating effects of pregnenolone acetate on the human skin. CurrTher Res 1961; 3(11):4G9-71.
1mg of pregnenolone had numerous rapid effects on human sleep EEG with an increase in slow-wave sleep and higher sleep efficiency. Pregnenolone sulfate is a neurosteroid that appears to be a partial inverse agonist of the GABA receptor complex—which is also affected by benzodiazapines.