The neurosteroid allopregnanolone is a metabolite of progesterone which regulates normal foetal brain development, particularly when brain injuries have occurred. Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) increases the risk of perinatal injury which affects foetal brain development and as such can have long-term consequences. Kelleher and colleagues experimentally growth restricted guinea pig foetuses in the presence and absence of finasteride, an inhibitor of allopregnanolone synthesis, to observe effects on foetal brain development. Reduced expression of myelin basic protein and thus myelination (important in the conduction of signals in the brain) occurred as a consequence of both finasteride administration and IUGR. IUGR also resulted in decreased expression of the steroidogenic enzyme 5α-reductase. This study highlights the importance of neurosteroids in the regulation of developmental processes in the foetal brain. Kelleher et al. (2011) Journal of Endocrinology 208 301–309.

Read the full article at: DOI:10.1677/JOE-10-0248.