Correlation between Female Sex Hormones and Electrodiagnostic Parameters and Clinical Function in Post-menopausal Women with Idiopathic Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the role of sex-hormonal changes in idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) among post-menopausal women through measuring estrogen receptor (ER) expression in their transverse carpal ligament (TCL) and serum estrogen level, as well as determine the correlation between these factors and electrodiagnostic parameters and Boston score.


METHODS
Biopsy samples of TCL were collected from 12 postmenopausal women who had undergone surgery for severe idiopathic CTS; control specimens were collected from 10 postmenopausal women without CTS who had undergone surgery for the other hand pathologies. To determine the distributions of ER in TCL, histological and immunohistochemical examinations were performed. Serum estrogen level was also measured. Electrodiagnosis and Boston questionnaire were used for CTS severity and determination of the patients' function.


RESULTS
ER expression in TCL and serum estrogen level were not significantly different in the case group compared to the control group (P = 0.79 and P = 0.88, respectively). Also, there was no correlation between ER expression or serum estrogen level and electrodiagnostic parameters or Boston score.


CONCLUSIONS
Sex hormones cannot still be considered as the etiology of idiopathic CTS in postmenopausal women. The role of other factors such as wrist ratio and narrower outlet in females compared to the males should be considered along with hormonal changes.
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Azam
A
Mohammadi
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Shiraz Geriatric Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Mahshid
M
Naseri
Bone and Joint Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Hamid
H
Namazi
Department of Pathology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Mohammad Javad
MJ
Ashraf
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Shiraz Burn Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Alireza
A
Ashraf
Carpal tunnel syndrome; Electrodiagnosis; Estrogen; Receptors