Weight loss can cause elevations in the hormone ghrelin which inhibits the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarial axis. Elevated concentrations of ghrelin alter the amplitude of GnRH pulses, which causes diminished pituitary release of LH and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Low levels of the hormone leptin are also seen in females with low body weight. Like ghrelin, leptin signals energy balance and fat stores to the reproductive axis. Decreased levels of leptin are closely related to low levels of body fat, and correlate with a slowing of GnRH pulsing. Drug-induced
Certain medications, particularly contraceptive medications, can induce amenorrhoea in a healthy woman. The lack of menstruation usually begins shortly after beginning the medication and can take up to a year to resume after stopping its use. Hormonal contraceptives that contain only progestogen, like the oral contraceptive Micronor, and especially higher-dose formulations, such as the injectable Depo-Provera, commonly induce this side effect. Extended cycle use of combined hormonal contraceptives also allow suppression of menstruation. Patients who stop using combined oral contraceptive pills (COCP) may experience secondary amenorrhoea as a withdrawal symptom. The link is not well understood, as studies have found no difference in hormone levels between women who develop amenorrhoea as a withdrawal symptom following the cessation of COCP use and women who experience secondary amenorrhoea because of other reasons. New contraceptive pills which do not have the normal seven days of placebo pills in each cycle, have been shown to increase rates of amenorrhoea in women.
For example, the public health service in Germany permits healthcare providers to bill for MCS-related medical services under the ICD-10 code T78.4, which is for idiosyncratic reactions, classified under the heading T78, Unerwünschte Nebenwirkungen, anderenorts nicht klassifiziert ("adverse reactions, not otherwise specified"). Being able to get paid for medical services and collect statistics about unspecified, idiosyncratic reactions does not mean that MCS is recognized as a specific disease or that any particular cause has been defined by the German government. Healthcare providers can also bill for MCS-related services under the ICD-10 codes of F45.0 for somatization disorder. MCS is named in evidence-based ("S3") guidelines for the management of patients with nonspecific, functional, and somatoform physical symptoms. Management
There is no single proven treatment for MCS. The goal of treatment is to improve quality of life, with fewer distressing symptoms and the ability to maintain employment and social relationships, rather than to produce a permanent cure.A multidisciplinary treatment approach is recommended. It should take into account the uncommon personality traits often seen in affected individuals and physiological abnormalities in sensory pathways and the limbic system. There is also no scientific consensus on supportive therapies for MCS, "but the literature agrees on the need for patients with MCS to avoid the specific substances that trigger reactions for them and also on the avoidance of xenobiotics in general, to prevent further sensitization. ": 17 Common self-care strategies include avoiding exposure to known triggers and emotional self-care.