Glucocorticoids, stress and exacerbation of excitotoxic neuron death

Glucocorticoids, the adrenal steroids secreted during stress, are capable of damaging the hippocampus, a principle neural target site for the hormones. In addition, the steroids are capable of endangering the hippocampus, impairing the capacity of hippocampal neurons to survive necrotic insults such as seizure, hypoxia-ischemia and hypoglycemia. This review details the evidence for glucocorticoid neurotoxicity and endangerment within the hippocampus, as well as the growing knowledge concerning the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these deleterious effects. Current findings suggest that glucocorticoids impair glucose uptake in the hippocampus, indirectly causing a mild energetic vulnerability in the structure. As a result, during energetically costly necrotic insults, the hippocampus is less capable of controlling damaging cascades of glutamate and of cytosolic calcium.