Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Hot flashes and night sweating are the most common medical complaints in women during the menopausal transition and they are strongly associated with the presence of perimenopausal depression. The pathophysiology of hot flashes has not been elucidated. Peripheral vasodilation and increase in skin temperature observed in women with hot flashes might be induced by changes in brain neurotransmitters and instability in the hypothalamic thermoregulatory center due to estrogen withdrawal. Cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-α have been reported to be potent vasodilators. We investigated if there is any association between IL-6, TNF-α and hot flashes in perimenopausal women.

Material and methods: We examined 65 perimenopausal women. All women were between the ages 40 and 55 and presented with a history of menstrual cycle irregularity of at least 6 months duration but not longer than 1 year of amenorrhea. Menopause rating scale (MRS) was given to women in order to examine the presence and severity of hot flashes. IL-6 and TNF-α were analysed with standard laboratory methods. Pearson’s correlations were applied to evaluate the relationship between cytokines and vasomotor symptoms.

Results: Serum IL-6 concentrations in perimenopausal women with severe hot flashes were significantly higher than the concentrations in women without hot flashes or with mild and moderate hot flashes. In the contrary, there is no difference in serum TNF-α concentrations in the population we examined.

Conclusions: IL-6 may be associated with peripheral vasodilation in women with hot flashes.