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MRI in multiple sclerosis during the menstrual cycle: relationship with sex hormone patterns
C Pozzilli1, P Falaschi, C Mainero
1Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy.
Neurology
|August 17, 1999
Abstract:
We investigated MRI activity in MS during the menstrual cycle in relation to physiologic sex hormone fluctuations. Eight women with relapsing-remitting MS were submitted to serial brain gadolinium-enhanced MRI examinations over a 3-month period in two alternate follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. The ratio of progesterone/17-beta-estradiol during the luteal phase was significantly associated with both number (r = 0.6, p = 0.03) and volume (r = 0.7, p = 0.009) of enhancing lesions, providing support for a role of these hormones as immunomodulatory factors in MS.