Neurology Department, Interdisciplinary Pain Center, Medical School.
Department of Dental Materials.
Pain Med. 2017 Aug 1;18(8):1549-1556. doi: 10.1093/pm/pnw272.
To investigate the trigeminal somatosensory (thermal, pain, tactile, vibratory, and electric), gustative (salty, bitter, sweet, sour), and olfactory thresholds in healthy women during the menstrual cycle and investigate any association with estradiol and progesterone levels in saliva.
We examined/tested 39 women between age 19 and 47 years and with regular menstrual cycles and no comorbidities. All women were informed about the purposes of the study, and only those who signed the informed consent were included. The tests were performed at three stages within the cycle: menstrual phase, follicular phase, and luteal phase. The procedure consisted of saliva collection at the beginning of each session to measure hormone levels, salivary flow, somatosensory evaluation with quantitative sensory testing applied to the right trigeminal maxillary branch and right forearm, gustative (sweet [glucose], salt [sodium chloride], sour [citric acid], and bitter [urea]) and olfactory (isopropanol at different concentrations) thresholds.
During the menstrual cycle, thresholds for sweet, salty, sour, cold, vibration, and deep pain decreased, but warmth, electrical, and superficial pain thresholds increased. The bitter threshold was high, and the olfactory threshold was low in the follicular phase. Low estrogen levels were correlated to high deep pain thresholds in the forearm ( P = 0.008) and face ( P = 0.041), high tactile thresholds ( P = 0.001), and high superficial pain ( P = 0.006) thresholds in the face. High levels of progesterone were associated with a high deep pain threshold in the face and a high salty threshold ( P < 0.001).
Estrogen and progesterone seem to be involved in sensory neuromodulation in women during the menstrual cycle.
研究健康女性在月经周期中的三叉体感（热、痛、触、振、电）、味觉（咸、苦、甜、酸）和嗅觉阈值，并探讨其与唾液中雌二醇和孕酮水平的关系。
我们检查了 39 名年龄在 19 至 47 岁之间、月经周期规律且无合并症的女性。所有女性都被告知了研究的目的，只有签署知情同意书的女性才被纳入研究。测试在周期的三个阶段进行：月经期、卵泡期和黄体期。程序包括在每个阶段开始时收集唾液以测量激素水平、唾液流量，以及对面部三叉神经上颌支和右前臂进行定量感觉测试，评估体感；用葡萄糖、氯化钠、柠檬酸和尿素评估味觉；用不同浓度的异丙醇评估嗅觉阈值。
在月经周期中，甜味、咸味、酸味、冷觉、振动觉和深部疼痛阈值降低，但温暖觉、电觉和浅部疼痛阈值升高。卵泡期苦味阈值较高，嗅觉阈值较低。低雌激素水平与前臂（ P = 0.008）和面部（ P = 0.041）深部疼痛阈值高、触觉阈值高（ P = 0.001）和面部浅部疼痛阈值高（ P = 0.006）有关。高孕激素水平与面部深部疼痛阈值高和咸味阈值高有关（ P < 0.001）。
雌二醇和孕酮似乎参与了女性月经周期中的感觉神经调制。
