Sex steroid hormones in depressive disorders as a basis for new potential treatment strategies.

The sex steroid hormones (SSHs) such as testosterone, estradiol, progesterone, and their metabolites have important organizational and activational impacts on the brain during critical periods of brain development and in adulthood. A variety of slow and rapid mechanisms mediate both organizational and activational processes via intracellular or membrane receptors for SSHs. Physiological concentrations and distribution of SSHs in the brain result in normal brain development. Nevertheless, dysregulation of hormonal equilibrium may result in several mood disorders, including depressive disorders, later in adolescence or adulthood. Gender differences in cognitive abilities, emotions as well as the 2-3 times higher prevalence of depressive disorders in females, were already described. This implies that SSHs may play a role in the development of depressive disorders. In this review, we discuss preclinical and clinical studies linked to SSHs and development of depressive disorders. Our secondary aim includes a review of up-to-date knowledge about molecular mechanisms in the pathogenesis of depressive disorders. Understanding these molecular mechanisms might lead to significant treatment adjustments for patients with depressive disorders and to an amelioration of clinical outcomes for these patients. Nevertheless, the impact of SSHs on the brain in the context of the development of depressive disorders, progression, and treatment responsiveness is complex in nature, and depends upon several factors in concert such as gender, age, comorbidities, and general health conditions.

Testosterone, personality traits and aggressive driving among young male drivers.

INTRODUCTION: Psychological testing to examine potentially aggressive behaviour is a gold standard, but it is not sufficient. Testosterone might increase an aggressive behaviour. AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether testosterone along with psychological assessment of fitness to drive could help to identify aggressive drivers. METHODS: Male participants (n=150) aged from 20 to 25, who possessed a driving license and drive at least 100 km per week, were evaluated in this study using an Inventory of traffic-relevant personality characteristics, the Sensation Seeking Scale and the Buss-Durkee Aggression Inventory. Saliva was collected for testosterone and cortisol measurements. The five binomial logistic models with dependent variables Caused an accident, Driving license taken away, Court trial, Intoxicated driving and Sporty self-report were tested in this study. RESULTS: The 'Intoxicated driving' model, was found to be statistically highly significant, explaining 48.8 % of the dependent variable's variance (χ2(16)=36.145, p<0.01). In this model with sensation seeking, actual testosterone and their interaction was highly significant and explained 20.4 % of intoxicated driving variability (χ2(3)=14.283, p<0.01). This was higher than sensation seeking scores only. CONCLUSION: To conclude, salivary testosterone might prove a biological marker that improves the identification of those with a high probability of aggressive driving or its subtypes (Tab. 3, Ref. 53).