Posted by JohnB on November 9, 2000, at 3:40:48
In reply to Desparately need your thoughts , posted by Shirley on November 8, 2000, at 17:00:04
This from: Depression Research
at the National Institute of Mental Health
Fact Sheet
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The influence of hormones on depression in women has been an active area of NIMH research. One recent study was the first to demonstrate that the troublesome depressive mood swings and physical symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), a disorder affecting three to seven percent of menstruating women, result from an abnormal response to normal hormone changes during the menstrual cycle. Among women with normal menstrual cycles, those with a history of PMS experienced relief from mood and physical symptoms when their sex hormones, estrogen and progesterone, were temporarily "turned off" by administering a drug that suppresses the function of the ovaries. PMS symptoms developed within a week or two after the hormones were re-introduced. In contrast, women without a history of PMS reported no effects of the hormonal manipulation. The study showed that female sex hormones do not cause PMS – rather, they trigger PMS symptoms in women with a preexisting vulnerability to the disorder. The researchers currently are attempting to determine what makes some women but not others susceptible to PMS. Possibilities include genetic differences in hormone sensitivity at the cellular level, differences in history of other mood disorders, and individual differences in serotonin function.
poster:JohnB
thread:48453
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001102/msgs/48507.html