Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 6, 2026
Author Spotlight: Creating a Versatile Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis Model Relevant for Both Male and Female Mice
Published on: October 13, 2023
Symptoms of multiple sclerosis during use of combined hormonal contraception
Per Kempe1, Mats Hammar2, Jan Brynhildsen2
1Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, S-581 85 Linköping, Sweden; Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, County Hospital Sundsvall, Sweden.
Objective:
The incidence and disease course of multiple sclerosis (MS) is influenced by sex steroids, and several studies have shown less disease activity during high estrogen states. We have previously shown variation in symptom experience related to the estrogen/progestogen phase in women using combined hormonal contraceptives (CHC) in a small sample. The aim of this study was to confirm these results in a larger sample.
Study Design:
Self-assessment of symptoms of MS in relation to CHC cycle by 22 female MS patients. A symptom diary based on a validated instrument for cyclical symptoms was used. Mean symptom scores for high and low estrogen/progestogen phases were compared.
Results:
The women scored four out of ten symptoms significantly higher during the pill-free week than during the CHC phase (p<.05).
Conclusion:
Women with MS report more pronounced symptoms during the pill-free, low-estrogen/progestogen phase of CHC use. Future studies should investigate, with a prospective, controlled design, the effects that continuous-use regimens of CHC have in women with MS.
More Related Videos
05:36Herbs-Partitioned Moxibustion on the Navel in a Rat Model of Primary Dysmenorrhea with Cold Coagulation and Blood Stasis
Published on: October 4, 2024
06:22Ex Vivo Method for Assessing the Mouse Reproductive Tract Spontaneous Motility and a MATLAB-based Uterus Motion Tracking Algorithm for Data Analysis
Published on: September 1, 2019
Related Concept Videos
01:24Disorders of the Female Reproductive System
01:22Birth Control Methods
01:22Hormonal Regulation of the Menstrual Cycle
At puberty, GnRH begins a pulsatile release pattern, which triggers the anterior pituitary gland to secrete follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). The frequency and amplitude of GnRH pulses vary across the menstrual cycle, with faster pulses favoring LH release and slower pulses favoring FSH...
01:30Hormonal Control of the Ovarian Cycle
Before puberty, the hypothalamus releases GnRH in a low frequency, low amplitude pulsatile manner. This along with the immature hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis activity, results in low estrogen levels and the absence of a fully functional ovarian cycle. At puberty, GnRH secretion increases in both frequency and...
01:28Menopause
01:21Intrauterine Drug Delivery Systems