Premenstrual Asthma: The Effect of Estrogen on Symptoms, Pulmonary Function, and β2-Receptors

Study Objectives. To characterize asthma symptoms, pulmonary function, and responsiveness to β2‐agonist stimulation, and in vitro β2‐receptor density and cyclic adenosine 3′,5′‐monophosphate (cAMP) response throughout the menstrual cycle in women with premenstrual asthma (PMA); and to examine the effect of exogenous estradiol administration on asthma symptoms, pulmonary function and responsiveness, and β2‐receptor density and function in these women. Design. Open‐label, longitudinal, 9‐week study. Setting. A university clinical research center. Patients. Seventeen women with mild to moderate asthma, of whom 14 completed the study. Interventions. Every morning on awakening during the entire 9‐week study, each subject completed visual analog scales for asthma symptomatology (cough, wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness) and measured and recorded her peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) with a peak flow meter. Also measured at various times throughout the menstrual cycle were dyspnea index scores, pulmonary function (PEFR, forced expiratory volume in 1 sec [FEV1]), pulmonary response to subcutaneous terbutaline, T lymphocyte β2‐receptor density (Bmax) and function (cAMP), and estradiol, progesterone, and catecholamine concentrations, both with and without exogenous estradiol administration. Measurements and Main Results. At the time of enrollment, only 5 subjects reported premenstrual worsening of asthma symptoms, but all 14 had greater than 20% decrease in PEFR and/or increase in symptoms premenstrually during the study. Significant differences (p