Effects of intranasal 17β-estradiol administration on serum bioactive interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein levels in healthy postmenopausal women

Abstract

The results of our study show that intranasal, similarly to transdermal, E2 administration does not increase serum CRP levels in postmenopausal women. They also support the hypothesis that CRP increase during oral estrogen treatment is not mediated by the enhancement of interleukin-6 production by the immune cells but is rather caused by the hepatic first-pass metabolism effect.