Neuroactive steroids such as dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), estradiol (E2), and progesterone (P4) are associated with structural and functional changes in the central nervous system (CNS). Measurement of steroid levels in the CNS compartments is restricted in accessibility. Consequently, there is only limited human data on the distributional equilibrium for steroid levels between peripheral and central compartments. While some neuroactive steroids including DHEA and E2 have been reported to convey excitatory and proconvulsant properties, the opposite was demonstrated for P4. We aimed to elucidate the correlation between peripheral and central DHEA, E2, and P4 levels in women at term pregnancy. CSF and serum samples of 27 healthy pregnant women (22-39 years) at term pregnancy were collected simultaneously under combined spinal and epidural anesthesia and used for DHEA ELISA and E2, and P4 ECLIA. All three neuroactive steroids were detected at markedly lower levels in CSF compared to their corresponding serum concentrations (decrease, mean ± SD, 97.66 ± 0.83%). We found a strong correlation for DHEA between its serum and the corresponding CSF levels (r = 0.65, p = 0.003). Serum and CSF levels of E2 (r = 0.31, p = 0.12) appeared not to correlate in the investigated cohort. DHEA serum concentration correlated significantly with E2 (r = 0.58, p = 0.0016) in CSF. In addition, a strong correlation was found between DHEA and E2, both measured in CSF (r = 0.65, p = 0.0002). Peripheral DHEA levels might serve as an indicator for central nervous levels of the neuroactive steroids DHEA and E2 in pregnant women.
Keywords: Cerebrospinal fluid; Dehydroepiandrosterone; Estradiol; Neuroactive steroids; Pregnancy; Progesterone; Reproductive endocrinology.
© 2021. The Author(s).