Prevent neuroinflammation: In a multiple sclerosis murine model, progesterone inhibited microgliosis and prevented release of proinflammatory cytokines (79). In a murine model of autoimmune encephalomyelitis, progesterone treatment reduced proinflammatory mediators CD-11b, TNF-α, and lowered activity of nitric oxide synthase, a precursor to oxidative stress (80). Progesterone downregulates inflammasome formation and TNF expression in microglia and induces BDNF release and autophagy in astrocytes (81). This evidence concerns the gene BDNF and multiple sclerosis.