Estrogen replacement therapy in women with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) occurs more commonly in men than in women, and women get the disease later in life compared to men. This epidemiologic aspect of the disease raises the question as to whether estrogen may be neuroprotective in delaying or preventing ALS. Postmenopausal women with ALS were separated into two groups dependent upon whether or not they took estrogen replacement therapy. Women who used estrogen had onset of their disease at an earlier age compared to those not taking hormonal replacement. There was no difference in survival in those patients taking estrogen compared to those not on the medication. Women with ALS were more likely to take estrogen compared to a control group of patients with neurological diseases other than motor neuron disease. Therefore, no evidence for a neuroprotective role of estrogen in postmenopausal women with ALS was found.