Case report, 2014
Does acetazolamide help PMDD symptoms in women who don't respond to standard treatments?
In 8 women with PMDD who hadn't improved with standard treatments, adding acetazolamide 125 mg per day for 7-10 days before each period made their symptoms disappear. They stayed symptom-free for at least 12 months.
What they did
A case series of 8 women with PMDD who hadn't responded to standard treatments. Five also had a mood disorder and one also had an anxiety disorder. They took 125 mg of acetazolamide daily for 7-10 days before their period each month. Doctors followed them for 12 months.
What they found
All 8 women had their symptoms disappear after taking acetazolamide. They had no premenstrual symptoms at the 12-month follow-up.
What it means for you
Acetazolamide might help women with PMDD who don't get better with standard treatments. This is a small group without a comparison group, so we can't be completely sure it was the acetazolamide that helped. The medication works on a brain chemical called GABA, which may be involved in PMDD. Larger studies would be needed to confirm this.
8
women studied
125 mg
daily dose
12 months
follow-up period
About the study
- Original title
- Low-dose acetazolamide in the treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder: a case series
- Authors
- Sani G, Kotzalidis GD, Panaccione I et al.
- Journal
- Psychiatry investigation
- Year
- 2014
- Study design
- Case report
- What was tested
- Acetazolamide 125 mg per day for 7-10 days before menses each month
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.4306/pi.2014.11.1.95
Topics
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