A survey on the impact of the menstrual cycle on movement disorders severity
Anna Castrioto1, Sara Hulliger, Yu-Yan Poon
1Movement Disorders Centre, Toronto Western Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Background:
A possible influence of estrogens on the dopaminergic system has been hypothesized and investigated by several studies, and fluctuations in motor symptoms related to the menstrual cycle have been reported in some movement disorders patients. We designed a survey to quantify how frequently female patients with various movement disorders are affected by this phenomenon and its impact on symptom severity.
Methods:
A questionnaire was sent to 104 women between 18- and 60-years-old diagnosed with movement disorders and regularly followed at our centre.
Results:
From a total of 65 subjects who completed the questionnaire, 54 women reported the onset of their movement disorders before menopause. Twenty of them (37%) experienced changes in their movement disorders during the menstrual cycle. In particular, there was a significant worsening of symptom severity before (p=0.0005) and during menses (p=0.0004).
Conclusions:
The possible role of such changes should be taken into account when evaluating the efficacy of various therapeutic interventions in movement disorder patients.
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