AAN 2022 | Vaginal estriol improves quality of life for patients with relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis

Mirla Avila, MD, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, explains a pilot study in which female patients with relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) received vaginal estriol once a day. Estriol is a hormone which is only present during pregnancy, and since patients with MS tend to do well during pregnancy, there is potential in investigating hormone therapies using pregnancy hormones. Patients involved in the study received vaginal estriol once a day in the evening and were monitored via two questionnaires on bladder function and quality of life (QoL). Remyelination was assessed at baseline, at 3 months into treatment, and at 9 months into treatment, using methods including optical coherence tomography (OCT) and MRI scans. Patients reported that bladder function and QoL were significantly improved and the remyelination tests showed improvement at 9 months compared to baseline. Dr Avila compares possible delivery methods for the drug and discusses the future directions for this line of research.