Does estrogen have immunomodulatory effects on pregnant women diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system, specifically demyelination of the axon sheaths. It is commonly diagnosed in women in their ideal reproductive ages. Current evidence has proposed a decrease in relapse rates in women diagnosed with multiple sclerosis during their third trimester of pregnancy with an increase in relapse rates post‐partum. We hypothesize that interventions using hormonal therapy could provide decreased exacerbations of the clinical manifestations of relapse‐remitting multiple sclerosis. This would lead to an increased quality of life and help increase the efficacy of therapeutic intervention. Using the Oxford Centre of Evidence‐Based Medicine, a systematic review of literature was completed. Keywords for the literature included multiple sclerosis, pregnancy, hormones, estrogen, progesterone, relapse rates, post‐partum, and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Based on the evidence gathered, combination hormonal therapy, including forms of estrogen, produces a decrease in multiple sclerosis disease activity, resulting in benefits for the women diagnosed with relapse‐remitting multiple sclerosis. We concluded that hormonal therapy would benefit significantly in the reduction of exacerbations in women diagnosed with relapse‐remitting multiple sclerosis leading to an increased quality of life.