Effects of Sex Steroids on Serum Sclerostin Levels during the Menstrual Cycle

Background/Aims: Previous studies on the effects of estrogen on sclerostin regulation were conducted in postmenopausal women in humans or animals following estrogen treatment or induced estrogen deficiency. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of sex hormones on serum sclerostin levels in premenopausal women with normal menstrual cycles. Methods: A prospective observational clinical study. 80 voluntary premenopausal women were recruited for the study. Data from 31 patients were available for the statistical analysis. Serum sclerostin, free estradiol, free testosterone, and progesterone levels were measured during the menstruation, late follicular and mid-luteal phases. The unique protocol IDs were BEAH FTR-4 and NCT01418924 at ClinicalTrials.gov ID. Results: Serum sclerostin values were 1.03 +/- 0.58 ng/ml during the menstruation phase, 1.0 +/- 0.36 ng/ml during the late follicular phase, and 1.18 +/- 0.67 ng/ml during the mid-luteal phase (p = 0.543). There was no significant relationship between serum levels of sex steroids and sclerostin. Conclusions: Previous studies have not investigated the impact of sex hormone fluctuations on serum sclerostin levels during the menstrual cycle. The present study shows that serum sclerostin levels were not affected by sex steroids in premenopausal women with normal menstrual cycles. Copyright (C) 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel