Effects of female sex steroids on Parkinson's disease in postmenopausal women

There are conflicting reports about estrogen modulating the activity of nig rostriatal dopaminergic neurons. Furthermore, modulation may be influenced by progesterone levels. Therefore, the clinical effects of sex steroids on parkinsonian symptoms in postmenopausal women with Parkinson's disease CPD) were analyzed in the present study. Patients (n = 12) were under the age o f 80, able to perform the motor function tests, and showed no contraindicat ions for estrogen suppletion. Motor function was assessed using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and a patient interview on subjec tive changes. In a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind trial lasti ng 8 weeks, no significant dopaminergic effect of estradiol (E-2) could be demonstrated, whereas in an open trial phase lasting 2 weeks, progesterone seemed to have an antidopaminergic effect. Several mechanisms are discussed that can account for the fact that we found no effect of E-2 on motor func tioning in our patients with PD.