Randomised trial, 2006
Can starting paroxetine only when symptoms begin help PMDD if stopped within days of menses?
Yes, 70% of women improved on symptom-onset paroxetine compared to 10% on placebo, and depression scores improved significantly. This is a very small study, so larger trials are needed.
What they did
Randomized, double-blind, crossover study. Twenty women with PMDD were assigned to paroxetine CR or placebo for one cycle, then switched to the other for a second cycle. They started treatment when premenstrual symptoms began and stopped within 3 days of menses.
What they found
Women took medication for an average of 9 days (range 3-15 days). Depression scores were significantly better on paroxetine (17.9±8.3) than placebo (31.5±11.2, p=0.009). Response rate was 70% on paroxetine versus 10% on placebo (p=0.006). Daily symptom severity scores trended lower on paroxetine but not significantly. No difference in withdrawal symptoms between groups.
What it means for you
Very short-term paroxetine (about 9 days per cycle) may help PMDD symptoms effectively while limiting medication exposure. This is a very small study with only 20 women, so larger trials are needed to confirm.
20
Women studied
70%
Response rate on paroxetine
9 days
Average treatment duration
About the study
- Original title
- Symptom-onset treatment for women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder
- Authors
- Yonkers KA, Holthausen GA, Poschman K et al.
- Journal
- Journal of clinical psychopharmacology
- Year
- 2006
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 4
- What was tested
- Paroxetine CR started when symptoms began and stopped within 3 days of menses
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1097/01.jcp.0000203197.03829.ae
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