Pregnant multiple sclerosis patients have long noticed a sharp reduction in their symptoms - only to see them reappear after giving birth. It's what tipped off researchers to the potential power of estriol, a type of estrogen that surges during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy to help prevent the body from rejecting the fetus. But new research shows it may do much more.
In a pilot study at UCLA, women took Trimesta, a synthesized form of estriol used in Europe and Asia for treating hot flashes. They showed an 80 percent reduction in M.S.-related lesions on the brain within three months of treatment. After six months, their cognitive function improved by 14 percent. Now the Pipex Pharmaceuticals drug is being studied at the University of Utah and six other sites in the US in a three-year, Phase II clinical study.
About 150 women with relapsing-remitting M.S. will participate, half of whom will be injected with Copaxone - a common drug therapy for M.S. - and take placebo pills, while the other half will receive the injections plus estriol pills...............
For the full report please go to MSRC: MS Research News : Drugs : Trimesta (Oral Estriol)