Rayshell Clapper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Every single month, women across the globe suffer from premenstrual syndrome, more commonly known as PMS. In fact, about 80 percent of women suffer from at least one symptom of PMS as the Office on Women’s Health (OWH) website explains.
What exactly are the symptoms of PMS? According to the OWH website, the symptoms can be physical and emotional, and they include the following:
• Acne
• Swollen or tender breasts
• Feeling tired
• Trouble sleeping
• Upset stomach, bloating, constipation, or diarrhea
• Headache or backache
• Appetite change or food cravings
• Joint or muscle pain
• Trouble with concentration or memory
• Tension, irritability, mood swings, or crying spells
• Anxiety or depression
Each woman who has PMS experiences different symptoms. Any one of these could leave women feeling awful, but some women suffer more than one, which could be devastating. Although the symptoms may be temporary, each month brings them back. Obviously, anyone who experiences any symptom of PMS would desire treatment. Current treatments include lifestyle changes, alternative therapies, and medications. OWH breaks down the current treatments. For lifestyle changes, the focus is on exercise, healthy diet, good sleep, stress management, and avoiding smoking. Current alternative therapies include adding certain vitamins and minerals to one’s daily life. Medications given to treat PMS consist of ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen, and aspirin.
Despite all this, many women still suffer through the pains and troubles of PMS.
However, a collaborative study between the University of Bristol, the University College London, and the University of Sao Paolo-Ribeirão Preto in Brazil has found a possible new treatment in the form of the anti-depressant Prozac, also called fluoxetine.
According to the University of Bristol, “PMS appears to be triggered by the fall in secretion of the ovarian sex steroid hormone progesterone that occurs towards the end of the menstrual cycle and leads to a decline in its breakdown product allopregnanolone, which acts in the brain as a potent sedative and tranquilizing agent.”
In layman’s terms, this means that women with PMS suffer from a type of natural drug withdrawal response. The brain reacts to the drop of progesterone and the subsequent decline of allopregnanolone.
The researchers found a connection between the anti-depressant fluoxetine and how the brain inhibits a certain enzyme, which deactivates allopregnanolone. As the fluoxetine inhibits the enzyme, the allopregnanolone does not decline in its breakdown thus the brain retains its necessary chemical balance. The connection was first recognized in rats, but the study found that fluoxetine had the same effect on the human brain, which means that it could potentially help women who suffer from PMS.
As the University additionally explains: “A paper published in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology, coupled with the team’s recent findings published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, show that short-term treatment with a low dose of fluoxetine immediately prior to the rat’s premenstrual period not only raised brain allopregnanolone and prevented the development of PMS-like symptoms but also blocked the increase in excitability of brain circuits involved in mediating the stress and fear responses that normally occur during this phase of the cycle.”
Further good news from this study comes in the fact that the dose of the fluoxetine was much lower than that given to patients dealing with depression. Moreover, the study showed that the lower dose of the anti-depressant worked much sooner to prevent symptoms of PMS versus treating the symptoms of depression. In those who take the drug for depression, it has to get into the system for weeks before the patient experiences any benefits. For those who may take it to treat PMS, it started working within hours.
For the 80 percent or so of women who suffer from one or more of the aforementioned PMS symptoms, the study about fluoxetine and its potential benefits could mean the difference between happiness and depression, between living life and hiding due to the mental and physical pains. As human trials begin in Brazil, perhaps new drugs will develop as well. A future without PMS is certainly one most of us would like to see, men and women alike.
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