Abstract
It has been shown recently that steroids may play important role in the pathophysiology of mental disorders, including schizophrenia, through modulation of various neurotransmitter systems. Neuroactive steroids are substances produced either outside or within the CNS (neurosteroids), nongenomically affecting nervous system.
Neuroactive steroids have anxiolytic, sedating, antidepressant, and antipsychotic effects; their levels are influenced by psychotropic drugs. Different levels of gonadal hormones explain sex differences in the phenomenology and treatment response of psychotic disorders; neuroactive steroids correspond to symptomatology and severity of illness.
Although the study results are frequently inconsistent or contradictory, data suggest that steroid metabolome (set of steroid hormones in blood) may become a diagnostic tool for schizophrenia. Antipsychotics can normalize abnormal neurosteroid levels; moreover, neurosteroids also possess antipsychotic potential.
They could be used as an adjuvant therapy in schizophrenia, improving negative and cognitive symptoms.