Natural Estrogen as an Antidepressant for Women

In last month’s BRAINSTORMS, we discussed the actions of estrogen in the central nervous system (CNS), emphasizing its key regulatory role for monoaminergic neurons via its unique receptors known as nuclear ligand-activated transcription factors. Here we update the potential antidepressant properties of estrogen, which brings us to a fork in the road: Should a woman with depression be treated with estrogen, an antidepressant, or both?