Case-control study, 2014
Are hormone and nerve chemical patterns different in different types of PMS?
Women with two different types of PMS had different patterns of brain hormones and chemicals, particularly ones linked to anger and depression. The patterns could partly explain why symptoms differ between women.
What they did
They measured hormones and nerve chemicals in blood samples from 30 women with one type of PMS, 30 with another type, and 30 healthy controls, across different phases of the menstrual cycle.
What they found
During the first half of the cycle, all groups were similar. During the second half, the anger-type PMS group had significantly higher dopamine and serotonin but much lower GABA, a calming chemical. Both PMS groups had higher stress chemicals and an imbalanced hormone profile. The anger-type group showed the most extreme changes.
What it means for you
Different PMS types may have distinct hormone patterns that could explain symptoms. However, this is a very small study using a Traditional Chinese Medicine classification rather than standard medical categories, so results need careful interpretation.
30
Subjects in each group
p<0.05
Significance of hormone differences
About the study
- Original title
- The correlation between neurosteroids and neurotransmitters with liver yang rising and liver qi stagnation types of premenstrual syndrome
- Authors
- Gao H, Shang YZ, Xia T et al.
- Journal
- Gynecological endocrinology : the official journal of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology
- Year
- 2014
- Study design
- Case-control study
- Participants
- 30
- What was tested
- None (measurement of hormone and nerve chemical levels)
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.3109/09513590.2014.943726
Topics
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