CYP19A1 and Alzheimer disease: However, enhanced aromatase expression in astrocyes has been reported following brain injury in rats and also in the human PFC in the late stages of AD, suggesting that neuronal impairment can induce estrogen production as a glial protective mechanism against neuronal death (Veiga et al., 2004; Luchetti et al., 2011; Acaz-Fonseca et al., 2016).