Eriksson, E., Sundblad, C., Lisjö, P., Modigh, K., & Andersch, B. (1992). Serum levels of androgens are higher in women with premenstrual irritability and dysphoria than in controls. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 17(2-3), 195-204. https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-4530(92)90058-f
Eriksson E, Sundblad C, Lisjö P, Modigh K, Andersch B. Serum levels of androgens are higher in women with premenstrual irritability and dysphoria than in controls. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1992;17(2-3):195-204. doi:10.1016/0306-4530(92)90058-f
Eriksson, E., et al. "Serum levels of androgens are higher in women with premenstrual irritability and dysphoria than in controls." Psychoneuroendocrinology, vol. 17, no. 2-3, 1992, pp. 195-204.
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Serum levels of progesterone, total testosterone, free testosterone, androstenedione (A2), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), 17-OH-progesterone (17-OHP), and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) were measured in the follicular phase, around ovulation, and in the luteal phase of 11 women with severe premenstrual irritability and dysphoria and in 11 age-matched controls with no premenstrual complaints. Serum levels of free testosterone were significantly higher in the subjects with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) than in the controls in the luteal phase (p < 0.01), the follicular phase (p < 0.05), and around ovulation (p < 0.01). DHEA levels were significantly higher in the PMS subjects, as compared to controls, around ovulation (p < 0.05), while 17-OHP levels were higher in the PMS women in the luteal phase (p < 0.05). With respect to the other steroids measured, as well as SHBG, no differences between PMS subjects and controls were found. These results indicate a possible involvement of androgens in the pathophysiology of premenstrual irritability and dysphoria.
Fifteen women with moderate to severe premenstrual symptoms, defined and graded according to a recently developed scoring system, took part in a double blind study of the effect of progesterone on premenstrual symptoms. The dosage was 100 mg progesterone twice daily delivered in vaginal pessaries. The women were improved with a statistically significant decrease in their scores by progesterone as well as by placebo treatment. There was no statistically significant difference between the two regimes.
This is a survey of 14 placebo-controlled studies regarding the treatment of premenstrual symptoms with bromocriptine. There is no substantial support that bromocriptine is an effective drug in the premenstrual syndrome as an entity. Symptoms such as irritability, depression, and anxiety were not significantly improved during treatment with bromocriptine compared to placebo treatment. Bromocriptine appears to be the treatment of choice in premenstrual mastodynia if the dosage of bromocriptine is at least 5 mg daily. Bromocriptine may therefore have a place in selected cases of the premenstrual syndrome with associated mastodynia.
A variety of hypotheses have been proposed to explain the premenstrual syndromes. These hypotheses serve as rationales for an equally diverse range of proposed treatments. To investigate these hypotheses, we obtained multiple blood samples across the menstrual cycle in women with well-characterized menstrually related mood disorder and in control subjects. No diagnosis-related differences were observed in the levels or patterns of secretion of progesterone, estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, testosterone-estradiol-binding globulin, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, dihydrotestosterone, prolactin, or cortisol. Our data suggest that premenstrual syndrome does not represent a simple hormonal deficiency and that the cited rationales for several of the proposed treatments are of questionable merit.
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a menstrual cycle-related disorder of mood and behavior with unknown etiology and lack of evidence of endocrine imbalances. The absence of menstrual cyclicity eliminates PMS symptoms, and cyclic gonadal changes appear necessary but not sufficient cause for behavioral symptoms in predisposed women. As there are many depressive symptoms in PMS, we focused on the neuroendocrine characteristics of depression, primarily hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal hyperactivity, and investigated plasma adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and cortisol levels in the menstrual cycle. Blood samples were drawn daily from ten patients with PMS and eight asymptomatic control subjects who also reported symptoms daily throughout one menstrual cycle. The ACTH levels were significantly lower in patients with PMS compared to control subjects in the luteal phase. Two PMS subgroups were identified by cluster analysis applied to symptom scores. Plasma ACTH levels of PMS Cluster 1 subjects were significantly lower compared to controls. The ACTH levels of PMS Cluster 2 subjects were nearly identical to controls. These preliminary results suggest distinct hormonal subgroups in the heterogeneous PMS population and support further study of ACTH as a biological correlate of PMS.
The relationship between symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and serum levels of pregnenolone (Pe), pregnenolone sulfate (PS), 5 alpha-pregnane-3,20-dione (5 alpha-DHP), 3 alpha-hydroxy-5 alpha- pregnan-20-one (5 alpha-THP), LH, 17 beta-estradiol (E2), and progesterone (P) was investigated during 2 consecutive menstrual cycles in 12 patients using daily measurements. Corresponding hormones were also measured during 1 cycle in 8 control women. Pe, PS, 5 alpha-DHP, and 5 alpha-THP showed a significant cyclicity within menstrual cycles and a high rate of correlation with P variation in both PMS patients and controls. No significant difference was found between PMS patients and controls in average serum concentrations of Pe, PS, 5 alpha-DHP, 5 alpha-THP, and LH during the luteal phase, whereas a significantly higher level of E2 and a lower level of P were observed in PMS patients. The variation in symptom scores was compared with that in hormone levels within each woman. The symptom peak showed a delay of 3-4 days after the serum P, Pe, 5 alpha-DHP, and 5 alpha-THP peaks. However, the plasma PS peak appeared on the same day or only 1 day before the symptom peak in PMS patients. When comparing the 2 cycles studied, more negative symptoms occurred in cycles with higher luteal phase E2, Pe, and PS concentrations, whereas higher luteal phase 5 alpha-DHP and 5 alpha-THP concentrations were associated with improved symptom ratings in PMS patients. These results suggest that the mentioned steroids are related to the severity of distressing symptoms in PMS patients.
Dalton ME, 1981·Postgrad Med J·Free full text on PubMed Central
Sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) binding capacity was measured in 50 women with severe premenstrual syndrome and 50 age-matched controls. The binding capacity was significantly lower (P = 0.001) in the patients. This finding suggests that the levels of SHBG binding capacity could be useful in the diagnosis and may help to explain the aetiology of the premenstrual syndrome.
PMID 1438645 1438645 DOI 10.1016/0306-4530(92)90058-f 10.1016/0306-4530(92)90058-f Eriksson et al. 1992, Eriksson 1992
Cite this article
Eriksson, E., Sundblad, C., Lisjö, P., Modigh, K., & Andersch, B. (1992). Serum levels of androgens are higher in women with premenstrual irritability and dysphoria than in controls. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 17(2-3), 195-204. https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-4530(92)90058-f
Eriksson E, Sundblad C, Lisjö P, Modigh K, Andersch B. Serum levels of androgens are higher in women with premenstrual irritability and dysphoria than in controls. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1992;17(2-3):195-204. doi:10.1016/0306-4530(92)90058-f
Eriksson, E., et al. "Serum levels of androgens are higher in women with premenstrual irritability and dysphoria than in controls." Psychoneuroendocrinology, vol. 17, no. 2-3, 1992, pp. 195-204.
