Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27645345›Full record

ArticleMultiple sclerosis and related disorders2016

Women's experiences of menopause in an online MS cohort: A case series.

R Bove, T Vaughan, T Chitnis, P Wicks, P L De Jager

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Multiple sclerosis and related disorders, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. The influence of menopause on multiple sclerosis.European journal of neurology · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Hormonal Therapies in Multiple Sclerosis: a Review of Clinical Data.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2024
    Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. The X factor in neurodegeneration.The Journal of experimental medicine · 2022
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Caring for Women with Multiple Sclerosis Across the Lifespan.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2018
    Review
  19. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

R BovePartners Multiple Sclerosis Center, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Brookline, MA 02445, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Center for Neurologic Diseases, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, NRB168, Boston, MA 02115, USA; University of California San Francisco Department of Neurology, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA. Electronic address: riley_bove@post.harvard.edu.
T VaughanPatientsLikeMe, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA. Electronic address: tvaughan@patientslikeme.com.
T ChitnisPartners Multiple Sclerosis Center, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Brookline, MA 02445, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Center for Neurologic Diseases, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, NRB168, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: tchitnis@rics.bwh.harvard.edu.
P WicksPatientsLikeMe, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA. Electronic address: pwicks@patientslikeme.com.
P L De JagerPartners Multiple Sclerosis Center, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Brookline, MA 02445, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Center for Neurologic Diseases, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, NRB168, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: pdejager@rics.bwh.harvard.edu.
Harvard University · USPatientsLikeMe (United States) · USBrigham and Women's Hospital · US

Funding

Hormones/Genes in Women's Health: From Bench to BedsideK12HD051959 · NICHD · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI GOLDSTEIN, JILL M, REXRODE, KATHRYN M · 2005 to 2023
$8.8M
NIA NIH HHS L30 AG048592NICHD NIH HHS K12 HD051959
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMany women with multiple sclerosis (MS) are postmenopausal. Previously reported findings from an online MS cohort suggested that earlier, surgical menopause may be associated with higher patient-reported MS severity scores.

objectiveTo explore experiences of menopause in a series of MS women responding to a reproductive survey from an online research platform, PatientsLikeMe (PLM).

methodsThe free-text responses from a detailed reproductive history survey deployed to PLM members were analyzed using grounded theory approach.

resultsOf the 208 free text responses, 127 responses related to menopause. Five themes emerged: (1) perimenopausal onset of MS symptoms, (2) overlap of MS and menopausal symptoms, (3) MS exacerbations and pseudo-exacerbations triggered by hot flashes, (4) escalation of disease course after menopause, including increasing fatigue, cognitive disturbance, and other symptoms; and (5) effect of HRT on MS symptoms. Some women reported no effects of menopause or HRT.

conclusionGiven an aging population and a median age of individuals currently living with MS very close to menopausal age in many cohorts, there is a pressing need to understand the impact of menopause on MS course. Qualitative responses in this study illustrated several specific themes that require quantitative testing in clinic-based cohorts.

Indexed as

PostmenopauseCohort StudiesFemaleHumansInternetMiddle AgedMultiple SclerosisSurveys and QuestionnairesHot flashesMenopauseMultiple sclerosisOnline communitiesPatient-powered research networksQuality of life

Identifiers

PMID27645345
PMCPMC5031240
OpenAlexW2467620546

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.