Endocrine Abstracts

A Maggi, Center of Excellence on Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Milan, Via Balzaretti 9, Milan, Italy Abstract

Professor Adriana Maggi’s career has been devoted to the study of the activities of estrogens, initially in the central nervous system and, more recently, in other non-reproductive organs with the aim to understand the physiological importance of this hormone beyond the control of reproductive functions. She was first to propose and prove that estrogens were active in brain regions relevant for affection, learning and memory, providing the foundations for the understanding of the role of these hormones in disorders such as premenstrual tension (PMT), post-partum and post-menopause depression and proving their involvement in the control of selective learning abilities.