Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

MRI in multiple sclerosis during the menstrual cycle: Relationship with sex hormone patterns

1999; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 53; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1212/wnl.53.3.622

1526-632X

Carlo Pozzilli, P. Falaschi, Caterina Mainero, Antonio Martocchia, ROSARIA D’URSO, Antonella Proietti, Marco Frontoni, Stefano Bastianello, Massimo Filippi,

Ultrasound and Hyperthermia Applications

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.