Report: Estrogen Battles Schizophrenia

When combined with antipsychotic medications, the estrogen estradiol appears to be a useful treatment in women with schizophrenia, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

The link between estrogen and mental illness was recognized more than a century ago, according to background information in the article. However, scientific evidence regarding estrogen as a therapy for mental illness has only recently emerged.

Jayashri Kulkarni, MBBS, MPM, FRA, NZCP, Ph. D., of the Alfred and Monash University and the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues conducted a randomized, double-blind study involving 102 women of child-bearing age with schizophrenia.

The group of women taking estradiol exhibited a greater improvement in psychotic symptoms over time than did the women taking antipsychotic medications alone. They also experienced a decline in positive symptoms--those which represent a distortion of normal functions.