Randomised trial, 1988
Does atenolol, a blood pressure medication, help PMDD symptoms?
Atenolol improved some symptoms including irritability and mood, but not all symptoms. Women who had PMDD for more than 5 years showed more improvement. The study was very small with only 16 women.
What they did
Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study in 16 women with PMDD. Women were treated with atenolol 50 mg once daily or placebo and compared on multiple symptom rating scales.
What they found
Atenolol improved irritability, vigor, elation, and friendliness compared to placebo. It did not produce significant improvements on several other rating scales. In the subgroup of 8 women who had PMDD symptoms for more than 5 years, atenolol improved most of the rating scales. Atenolol decreased plasma aldosterone to a limited extent and showed a trend toward higher luteal progesterone levels.
What it means for you
Atenolol may help some PMDD symptoms, especially in women with long-standing disease, but does not address all symptoms. The mechanism is unclear. This is a very small study from 1988, so results should be confirmed in larger modern trials before atenolol could be recommended for PMDD treatment.
16
women in the study
8
women with symptoms lasting more than 5 years
50 mg
atenolol dose given once daily
About the study
- Original title
- Atenolol treatment of late luteal phase dysphoric disorder
- Authors
- Rausch JL, Janowsky DS, Golshan S et al.
- Journal
- Journal of affective disorders
- Year
- 1988
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 8
- What was tested
- Atenolol 50 mg once daily
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/0165-0327(88)90082-1
Topics
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