---
title: Does the hormone allopregnanolone relate to how well antidepressants work for severe PMS?
description: Women whose PMS improved on antidepressants had significantly lower allopregnanolone levels than those who didn't improve. This is preliminary evidence but su
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/allopregnanolone-levels-and-symptom-improvement-in-severe-premenstrual-syndrome-2002/
---

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- Does the hormone allopregnanolone relate to how well antidepressants work for severe PMS?

Randomised trial, 2002

# Does the hormone allopregnanolone relate to how well antidepressants work for severe PMS?

Women whose PMS improved on antidepressants had significantly lower allopregnanolone levels than those who didn't improve. This is preliminary evidence but suggests allopregnanolone may play a role in treatment response.

 Moderate study design

46 women with severe premenstrual syndrome

## What they did

Researchers gave 46 women with severe PMS either sertraline, desipramine, or placebo in a double-blind study for 2 to 3 months. They measured blood allopregnanolone levels before and after treatment and tracked symptom changes daily.

## What they found

Women who improved had significantly lower allopregnanolone levels after treatment compared to those who didn't improve. The improvement was strongest for depression and appetite changes. These findings remained significant even after adjusting for which drug they took, cycle day, and other factors.

## What it means for you

This is the first controlled study suggesting allopregnanolone may be involved in how antidepressants help PMS. The main limitation is the small sample size and that results are preliminary.

46

women studied

27 of 46

women improved

2-3 months

treatment duration

## About the study

Original title Allopregnanolone levels and symptom improvement in severe premenstrual syndrome Authors Freeman EW, Frye CA, Rickels K et al. Journal Journal of clinical psychopharmacology Year 2002 Study design Randomised trial Participants 46 What was tested Sertraline, desipramine, or placebo for 2 to 3 months Read the paper [doi.org/10.1097/00004714-200210000-00013](https://doi.org/10.1097/00004714-200210000-00013)

## Topics

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

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