According to the BBC, researchers from University La Sapienza in Italy looked at hormone levels in 25 men and 35 women with MS and in 36 people without the disease.

It was found that women with MS had lower levels of the male hormone testosterone throughout their monthly cycle compared to women who did not have the condition.

The MS group also had more of the lesions, which are caused by inflammation in the relapse period of the disease and there were some women within the MS group who had relatively high levels of testosterone.

The research published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry reveals that women were more likely to show signs of the irreversible tissue damage, linked with disability, which is more likely to be seen in the remitting stage of the disease where tissue is not inflamed.

However, men with MS who had the highest levels of the female hormone oestradiol were found to have the greatest degree of brain tissue damage.

However, no difference in testosterone levels was found between men with or without MS.

"We propose that oestrogens and testosterone play a role in modulating the development of brain tissue damage in MS.The respective contribution of these two hormones and their types of actions and interactions deserve further analysis," the researchers led by Dr Carlo Pozzilli of the Department of Neurological Sciences at University La Sapienza, write.

None of the other hormones studied seemed to have any impact on the findings.

MS is an inflammatory disease, which causes a range of symptoms from fatigue and numbness to difficulties with movement, speech and memory.

The relapsing-remitting form of the disease follows a characteristic pattern of periods of deterioration followed by partial recovery. (ANI)

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