---
title: Does the antidepressant citalopram change how women with PMS respond to the brain chemical pregnanolone?
description: Yes. During citalopram treatment, pregnanolone caused measurable eye movement changes that did not occur before treatment. This small uncontrolled study needs
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/citalopram-increases-pregnanolone-sensitivity-in-patients-with-premenstrual-1998/
---

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- Does the antidepressant citalopram change how women with PMS respond to the brain chemical pregnanolone?

Non-randomised trial, 1998

# Does the antidepressant citalopram change how women with PMS respond to the brain chemical pregnanolone?

Yes. During citalopram treatment, pregnanolone caused measurable eye movement changes that did not occur before treatment. This small uncontrolled study needs confirmation in larger trials.

 Early or limited evidence

12 women with premenstrual syndrome

## What they did

An open trial (without a placebo control group) in 12 women with premenstrual syndrome. Researchers tested the effect of three increasing doses of pregnanolone (injected into a vein) on eye movements and feelings of sedation during two menstrual cycles, one without treatment and one while taking citalopram.

## What they found

During citalopram treatment, pregnanolone injections caused a significant reduction in eye movement speed compared to control injections. Before citalopram treatment, there was no significant change in eye movement between pregnanolone and control injections. Citalopram treatment did not alter how much sedation women reported from pregnanolone.

## What it means for you

The antidepressant citalopram appears to increase the brain's sensitivity to a naturally occurring brain chemical that changes during the menstrual cycle. This finding is important but comes from a very small study with no control group, so results need confirmation in larger, controlled trials.

12

Number of women studied

2

Number of menstrual cycles tested

## About the study

Original title Citalopram increases pregnanolone sensitivity in patients with premenstrual syndrome: an open trial Authors Sundström I, Bäckström T Journal Psychoneuroendocrinology Year 1998 Study design Non-randomised trial What was tested Citalopram treatment Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/s0306-4530(97)00064-4](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0306-4530(97)00064-4)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[SSRIs and antidepressants](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-ssri/)[Pregnancy and postpartum](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-postpartum/)

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