A new study from UC San Francisco reveals that menopause accelerates the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). Post-menopause, women with MS experience slower walking speeds and subtle declines in fine motor skills and cognitive abilities.

Researchers are now questioning whether hormone therapy could benefit the 30% to 40% of MS patients who are perimenopausal or postmenopausal. Since women make up 75% of MS patients, and hormonal changes are known to impact the disease, this could be a significant breakthrough.

Dr. Riley Bove, an associate professor of neurology at UCSF, explains that hormonal fluctuations during puberty, pregnancy, and menopause can affect autoimmune diseases like MS. The study, published in the journal Neurology, followed 184 women over an average of 13 years, revealing that menopause has a unique impact on MS progression.

The study found increased levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) in the blood after menopause, indicating nerve cell degeneration, a hallmark of advancing MS. While only a small number of participants used estrogen therapy, the findings suggest that hormone therapy could be an area worth exploring further.