Medroxyprogesterone acetate is associated with increased sleep spindles during non-rapid eye movement sleep in women referred for polysomnography.
Sleep spindles are characteristic electroencephalographic waveforms that may play functionally significant roles in sleep-dependent memory consolidation, cortical development, and neuropsychiatric disorders. Circumstantial evidence has connected endogenous progesterone and its metabolites to the production of sleep spindles; however, the effects of exogenous progestins on sleep spindles have not been described in women. We examined differences in sleep spindle frequency and morphology in a clinical sample of women (n=21) referred for polysomnography taking depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), relative to a matched comparison group. Consistent with our hypotheses, women taking MPA demonstrated significantly higher sleep spindle density and maximal amplitude relative to comparison patients. Our results suggest that progestins potentiate the generation of sleep spindles, which may have significant implications for research that examines the role of these waveforms in learning, development, and mental illness.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA. Electronic address: dplante@wisc.edu.
David T
DT
Plante
Michael R
MR
Goldstein
D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D003271:Contraceptive Agents, Female / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017258:Medroxyprogesterone Acetate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017286:Polysomnography; D012890:Sleep / Q000187:drug effects*; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000187:drug effects*; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D003271:Contraceptive Agents, Female; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D017258:Medroxyprogesterone Acetate
Medroxyprogesterone; Progesterone; Progestin; Sleep spindles