---
title: Do women with PMDD have a different panic response than other women?
description: No. Two stress hormones (vasopressin and oxytocin) increased similarly during a panic test in women with PMDD and in women without PMDD, regardless of where t
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/arginine-vasopressin-and-oxytocin-response-to-cholecystokinin-tetrapeptide-2001/
---

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- Do women with PMDD have a different panic response than other women?

Randomised trial, 2001

# Do women with PMDD have a different panic response than other women?

No. Two stress hormones (vasopressin and oxytocin) increased similarly during a panic test in women with PMDD and in women without PMDD, regardless of where they were in their menstrual cycle.

 Early or limited evidence

Women with PMDD and women without PMDD

## What they did

Women with PMDD and women without PMDD received an intravenous injection of CCK-4, a substance that triggers a panic response. Researchers measured blood levels of two hormones, vasopressin and oxytocin, before and after the injection during both the early cycle and late cycle phases of the menstrual cycle.

## What they found

Both vasopressin and oxytocin levels increased after the CCK-4 injection. The increase was the same in women with PMDD and control women. The menstrual cycle phase did not affect this response.

## What it means for you

This small laboratory study suggests women with PMDD may respond to panic triggers similarly to other women. However, the study used an artificial test with very few participants, so these findings may not reflect how PMDD works in real life.

2

menstrual cycle phases studied

2

stress hormones measured

## About the study

Original title Arginine-vasopressin and oxytocin response to cholecystokinin-tetrapeptide Authors Le Mellédo JM, Bradwejn J, Koszycki D et al. Journal Peptides Year 2001 Study design Randomised trial Participants 4 What was tested Intravenous CCK-4 injection (panic-inducing substance) Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/s0196-9781(01)00462-4](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0196-9781(01)00462-4)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Anxiety disorders and OCD](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-anxiety-disorders/)

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