Do women with migraine have higher estrogen levels?

via time.com

"Researchers have long known that sex hormones such as estrogen play a role in migraine. But there's been little research on how that works. Do women with migraine have higher estrogen levels in general? Higher levels at the peak of the monthly cycle?

Research published in the June 1, 2016, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, shows that, for women with a history of migraine, estrogen levels may drop more rapidly in the days just before menstruation than they do for women who do not have migraine history. For other hormone patterns, there were no differences between women with migraine and women who did not have migraine.

The study also showed that the women with a migraine history had a faster rate of estrogen decline regardless of whether they had a migraine during that cycle.

"These results suggest that a 'two-hit' process may link estrogen withdrawal to menstrual migraine. More rapid estrogen decline may make women vulnerable to common triggers for migraine attacks such as stress, lack of sleep, foods and wine," said study author Jelena Pavlovi?, MD, PhD, of Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, NY, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology..."

Learn More:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160601163522.htm

Licorice compound interferes with sex hormones in ovary

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"A study of mouse reproductive tissues finds that exposure to isoliquiritigenin, a compound found in licorice, disrupts steroid sex hormone production in the ovary, researchers report. This is the first study to examine the effects of this chemical on the ovary.

Exposure to high levels of the compound, which the researchers call "iso," lowered the expression of key genes involved in hormone production, the researchers found. In particular, expression of a gene for aromatase, an enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen, dropped by 50 percent or more.

The findings are reported in the journal Reproductive Toxicology.

Though preliminary -- more research must be done to determine iso's effects in living animals -- the discovery is concerning, said University of Illinois comparative biosciences professor Jodi Flaws, who led the study with researcher Sharada Mahalingam.

"In general, when you start to have lower hormone levels, you could start to have problems with reproduction," Flaws said. "And because estrogen is also important for healthy brains, healthy bones, a healthy cardiovascular system, if the levels are depleted for too long, you could have problems with those systems. We haven't shown that to be the case. That's just a possibility..."

Learn more:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161109182740.htm