Physiological and hormonal changes between postmenopausal rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus in women.

Abstract

It is thought that sex hormones are playing an actual role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The purpose of this study was to determine the differences of some hematological, hormonal and immunological parameters between the postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. This study contained 75 postmenopausal women (52-65 years old). They included 25 women diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, 25 diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus and 25 normal controls. Blood was collected and used to determine complete blood count (CBC) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) tests. Serum was separated and used to determine Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), Luteinizing Hormone (LH), Prolactin, cortisol, Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, rheumatoid factor (RF) and Immunoglobulin E (IgE). The results indicated that both patients' groups had anemia. However, the RA group had leukocytosis, but the SLE group had leukopenia. Moreover, thrombopenia occurred only in SLE patients. Although the levels of FSH and cortisol were significantly higher, the levels of LH, Estrogen and testosterone had significantly dropped in both patient groups. Interestingly, the level of progesterone was higher in the SLE and lower in the RA group. Moreover, the levels of RF, ESR and IgE were significantly increased in both patients' groups. In conclusion, there were many differences in hematological and hormonal levels between postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Such findings need future work to find out the reasons for these differences and how they could be used in future treatment strategies.