Effects of Menopause on Autoimmune Diseases

Miranda A Farage, Kenneth W Miller, Howard I Maibach

    Expert Rev of Obstet Gynecol. 2012;7(6):557-571.Â

   (from Medscape) 2015

<<<  Excerpts:  I chose these to stress the link between hormones and autoimmune disease.  I am genetically susceptible to Rheumatoid Arthritis, so I also included some of the section on RA. >>>>>>

Postmenopausal deficits in estrogen and progesterone, and the replacement of E2, the primary

estrogen of the reproductive years, to E1 carry impact far beyond the immune system.

The sudden and dramatic removal of estrogen from the female body, particularly in the form of estradiol, is a veritable tsunami with significant and largely negative effects on many body tissues, including a loss of skin integrity and tone, poorer muscle tone

-- (affecting heart, vasculature, eye and bladder function; declining brain function; and deterioration in bone strength). 

Estrogen levels, and particularly the estrogen withdrawal of menopause, undeniably impact autoimmunity in women as well.

The molecular and cellular changes associated with aging have substantial clinical ramifications. The elderly have impaired ability to achieve immunization but much higher levels of circulating autoantibodies, (due to the lack of naive effectors) impaired response to viral infections, increased risk of bacterial infections, and increased risk of both neoplastic and autoimmune disease.

Androgens, estrogen, and progesterone ALL influence immune functions; estrogen in the form of 17b estradiol has been particularly associated with profound influences on the immune system.

Anti-nuclear antibodies levels remain constant until approximately 60 years, and then rise.

Rhuematoid Arthritis

Menopause is associated with an increased risk of disease onset. In a cohort of nearly 32,000 women in Iowa (USA), those who reached menopause before 45 years of age had a higher risk of RA than women who reached menopause after 51 years of age.[90] Similar results were obtained in a study that evaluated 18,326 Swedish women and compared those who entered menopause before 45 to those who reached menopause after 45 years of age.[91]  

Another author followed RA patients over a 6-year period; the 209 female patients evaluated were divided into premenopausal and postmenopausal groups. Postmenopausal subjects had greater joint damage as measured radiographically as well as by health assessment questionnaires. In addition, comparison with both premenopausal women and men determined that estrogen deprivation of menopause was a significant factor in the disparity of damage between men and women.[92]   Although the use of HRT does not appear to influence the risk of developing RA,[93] HRT improves both symptoms and progression of disease.[94]

This review revealed a disturbing absence of data on the influence of menopause on autoimmune disease given its predominance in women and the fact that autoimmunity increases with age, an absence possibly related to an existing deficit in the understanding of the physiological basis for autoimmune disease in general.

<<<<<   Low Dose Naltrexone is an immune modulator.  
Low Dose Naltrexone stimulates maturation of the DC's (Dendritic Cells) shown above.  I felt this impact within 2 weeks of taking LDN.  >>>>>