Influence of menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptive use on MS symptom fluctuations: A pilot study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In clinical practice, females with MS often report menstrually-related symptom fluctuations. Hypothetically, use of oral contraceptives (OCs) could reduce these fluctuations, particularly continuous OCs (11+ weeks of consistent exogenous hormones followed by 1 week placebo).

Objectives

To prospectively capture (1) whether neurologic and generalized symptoms vary with menstrual cycle phase and (2) whether type of contraception impacts symptom fluctuations.

Methods

In this two-center pilot study, females with MS and a regular menstrual cycle prospectively tracked their menstrual cycles and completed symptom surveys for up to 6 months. Participants were categorized as 1) users of oral contraceptives, either a) cyclic or b) continuous, or 2) endogenously cyclin

SUBMITTER: Taylor H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11090415 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature