---
title: Does bromocriptine help premenstrual tension? | Niyora
description: Bromocriptine improved breast tenderness, bloating, and depression, but placebo also helped with many other symptoms, so the true effect may be smaller than i
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/bromocriptine-in-the-treatment-of-premenstrual-tension-syndrome-1980/
---

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- Does bromocriptine help premenstrual tension?

Randomised trial, 1980

# Does bromocriptine help premenstrual tension?

Bromocriptine improved breast tenderness, bloating, and depression, but placebo also helped with many other symptoms, so the true effect may be smaller than it appears.

 Moderate study design

24 women with moderate to severe premenstrual tension

## What they did

24 women with moderate to severe premenstrual tension were studied in a double-blind trial. Symptoms were scored daily and checked with physical exams twice monthly.

## What they found

CB154 (bromocriptine) treatment resulted in statistically significant improvement in breast tenderness (P .10), despite reported symptoms of bloating and weight gain. Significant placebo effects were observed for several other symptoms.

## What it means for you

Bromocriptine helped some specific symptoms, but the strong placebo effect shows that expectation and psychology play an important role in PMS. This is a small study with only 24 women.

24

women in study

P < .005

breast tenderness improvement

P < .02

bloating improvement

## About the study

Original title Bromocriptine in the treatment of premenstrual tension syndrome Authors Elsner CW, Buster JE, Schindler RA et al. Journal Obstetrics and gynecology Year 1980 Study design Randomised trial What was tested CB154 (bromocriptine) Read the paper [doi.org/10.1097/00006254-198105000-00018](https://doi.org/10.1097/00006254-198105000-00018)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Bloating, breast tenderness and physical symptoms](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-physical-symptoms/)[Diuretics and other drugs](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-diuretics-other-drugs/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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