ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11334228
Very short abstract. These are some drugs that can be prescribed which would increase allopregnanolone levels in the brain.
Abstract
Effects of antidepressants (desipramine, amitriptyline), anticonvulsants (phenytoin, diazepam, carbamazepine) and addictive drugs (amphetamine, morphine), used at a concentration of 100 microM on the conversion of [14C]-progesterone to 5alpha-pregnane-3,20-dione and allopregnanolone in slices of the frontal cortex and olfactory bulb from rat brain were studied. The synthesis of 5alpha-pregnane-3,20-dione and allopregnanolone was stronger in the olfactory bulb than in the frontal cortex. The biosynthesis of allopregnanolone in the frontal cortex was higher by 74, 109 and 187% when stimulated by amitriptyline, desipramine and carbamazepine, respectively, and, to a lesser degree, by phenytoin and morphine. Desipramine and morphine decreased the concentration of 5alpha-pregnane-3,20-dione. In the olfactory bulb, only carbamazepine enhanced allopregnanolone production, but none of the tested drugs had any effect on 5alpha-pregnane-3,20-dione synthesis. It is concluded that some psychotropic drugs may increase allopregnanolone synthesis by stimulating the activity of the enzyme, 3alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, in the frontal cortex, and that this neurosteroid may be partly involved in the mechanism of action of the drugs under study.