Hormone allergy.

BACKGROUND Estrogen and progesterone have been associated in women with symptoms that include asthma, migraine, dermatitis and pain. OBJECTIVE We suggest a connection between symptoms associated with hormone changes to a hormone antibody response. METHODS For IgG, IgM and IgE antibodies to progesterone, blood samples were obtained from 288 healthy control subjects by a commercial lab in California. Blood from 270 patients in Texas with changes in symptoms associated with menstrual cycles was examined. For IgE antibodies to both progesterone and estrogen, blood samples were obtained from an additional 32 healthy control subjects who had no symptoms related to menses and from 98 patients with symptoms associated with menstrual cycles. The symptoms were asthma, migraines and joint pain. RESULTS At 2 S.D. above the mean values of control subjects, a significant number of patients show high levels of IgG, IgM and IgE antibodies to progesterone and estrogen. CONCLUSIONS This paper describes evidence of antibodies to the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Progesterone, estrogen and their metabolites, after binding to human tissue proteins, such as albumin or globulin, may act as antigens and promote Type 2 helper cell development, thereby regulating antibody synthesis and allergy. This leads to the possibility of treating a wide variety of disorders by determining hormone allergy and initiating desensitization. Two obvious applications for determination and treatment of hormone allergies are pre-menstrual asthma and menstrual migraines.