Premenstrual Syndrome Drug Brings Relief

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 28 Feb 2004 - 0:00 PDT


The antidepressant Sertraline seems to help women with severe premenstrual syndrome. It does not matter whether the woman takes the medicine continuously or just before the start of her period.

In the study, 167 women were put into three groups. One group had continuous sertraline , another group had sertraline just before their periods, while the other group had a placebo.

Sertraline is also known as Zoloft.

The study was carried out by Dr. Ellen W. Freeman, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, and colleagues.

You can read about the study in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Researchers found that women's premenstrual symptom scores improved dramatically in both groups that took sertraline (in comparison to the placebo group). Their moods and physical symptoms improved significantly.

Researchers commented that the improvement was immediate (during first menstrual cycle).

They also found an improvement with the placebo, although much less than with sertraline.

The sertraline groups experienced much greater improvements in their family relationships, social activities and sexual functioning than the placebo group.

Dr. Ellen W. Freeman said 'The conclusion from these data is that the decision between full-cycle and premenstrual dosing for women with severe PMS ... can be based on patient/physician preference and individual experience of side effects.'

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