Estrogenic components for use in the treatment of neurological disorders

A method of treatment of a newborn subject that has suffered a diffuse white matter injury comprising administering to the subject an amount of an estrogenic component effective for said treatment, said estrogenic component being selected from the group consisting of:

• an estrogenic substance of formula (I):
• wherein R1, R2, R3, R4 each independently are a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group, or an alkoxy group with 1-5 carbon atoms;
• wherein each of R5, R6, R7 is a hydroxyl group;
• and wherein no more than 3 of R1, R2, R3, R4 are hydrogen atoms;
• a precursor of the estrogenic substance(s), wherein the precursors are derivatives of the estrogenic substance(s) wherein the hydrogen atom of at least one of the hydroxyl groups has been substituted by an acyl radical of a hydrocarbon carboxylic, sulfonic or sulfamic acid of 1-25 carbon atoms;
• tetrahydrofuranyl;
• tetrahydropyranyl;
• or a straight or branched chain glycosydic residue containing 1-20 glycosidic units per residue;
• and
• a mixture of one or more of the estrogenic substance(s) and/or the precursor(s).