Search

Recent studies indicate that antidepressant drugs with potent serotonin reuptake inhibiting properties are effective in reducing the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). In order to elucidate whether all antidepressant drugs are equally effective in the treatment of PMS or whether potent serotonin reuptake inhibition is a prerequisite for reducing premenstrual complaints, women suffering from severe PMS were treated daily for three menstrual cycles with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, paroxetine (n = 22), or with a selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, maprotiline (n = 21); in addition, a placebo group was included (n = 22). Six symptoms (irritability, depressed mood, tension/anxiety, increased appetite/craving for carbohydrates, bloating, and breast tenderness) were rated by the participants daily throughout the study. With respect to all outcome measurements, the symptom reduction obtained with paroxetine was significantly superior to that obtained with placebo; with respect to irritability, increased appetite/carbohydrate craving, bloating, and breast tenderness, as well as global self-rating, paroxetine was significantly superior also to maprotiline. The clear-cut superiority of paroxetine over maprotiline indicates that not all antidepressant drugs are equally effective in the treatment of PMS; rather, like panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder, but in contrast to depression, PMS apparently responds better to serotonin reuptake inhibitors than to antidepressants with a noradrenergic profile.

In a previous controlled trial we have shown that premenstrual irritability and depressed mood (premenstrual syndrome) can be effectively reduced by low doses of the potent (but nonselective) serotonin reuptake inhibitor clomipramine taken each day of the menstrual cycle. The present study was undertaken to examine to what extent intermittent administration of clomipramine, during the luteal phase only, is also effective against premenstrual complaints. Twenty-nine nondepressed women displaying severe premenstrual irritability and/or depressed mood and fulfilling the DSM-III-R criteria of late luteal phase dysphoric disorder were treated daily from the day of ovulation until the onset of the menstruation either with clomipramine (25 to 75 mg) (n = 15) or with placebo (n = 14) for three consecutive menstrual cycles; another nine subjects (seven on clomipramine, two on placebo) dropped out during treatment. In both treatment groups self-rated premenstrual irritability and depressed mood (as registered daily using a visual analogue scale) were significantly reduced during treatment; in the placebo group, this symptom reduction was about 45%, whereas in the clomipramine group it was greater than 70%. The mean premenstrual ratings of irritability and depressed mood during the three treatment cycles were significantly lower in the clomipramine group than in the placebo group. Also with respect to the rating of global improvement, the result obtained with clomipramine was significantly better than that obtained with placebo. The study confirms the previously reported effectiveness of low doses of clomipramine in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome and demonstrates that the time lag between onset of medication and clinical effect is shorter when clomipramine is used for premenstrual syndrome than when it is used for depression, panic disorder, or obsessive compulsive disorder.