Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Gene May Help Spur Premenstrual Depression

(HealthDay News) -- Scientists have discovered a gene variant linked to an increased risk of severe premenstrual depression.

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD, is a psychiatric condition that affects about 8 percent of women in their childbearing years. Women with PMDD experience bouts of major depression and/or anxiety and severe irritability during the second half of their menstrual cycle.

These symptoms subside with the onset of the menstrual period.

PMDD has been thought to be related to hormonal changes over the course of the menstrual cycle.

For a new study published online June 30 in Biological Psychiatry, researchers studied 91 women with a confirmed diagnosis of PMDD over at least three months. Another 56 women who had no history of mood disorders related to the menstrual cycle served as the comparison group.

The team found four specific gene variants in the estrogen receptor alpha gene, ESR1, that were more common in the women with PMDD than in the control group.

"While these are preliminary findings that require replication in larger studies, we would argue that this may explain part of the variance among women in the susceptibility to developing this mood disorder," the study's senior author David R. Rubinow, Meymandi distinguished professor and chair of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, said in a prepared statement.

More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about PMDD.

No comments:

ClickComments

Balancing Your Hormones Without Drugs... You Can Feel Good Again

Balancing Your Hormones Without Drugs... You Can Feel Good Again

$19.95
[ learn more ]

Add to Cart

Hormone imbalance can be reversed! Look and feel better than ever, just take the time to learn about yourself and read the information contained in this just released e-book about reversing hormone imbalance. Are you ready to finally look and feel great? If so... read on... - E-Book Version.(BH)