Case-control study, 2000
Does blood flow in the brain change during PMS?
Yes. A small study found that brain blood flow decreased in the temporal lobes during the premenstrual period in women with PMS, and this related to worsening depression.
What they did
Case-control study comparing 7 women with PMS to 7 healthy controls. Participants had brain scans during the premenstrual and postmenstrual periods. The researchers measured blood flow in different brain areas and depression severity.
What they found
Brain blood flow in the temporal lobes decreased during the premenstrual period in women with PMS but not in controls. The decrease strongly correlated with depression scores (right temporal lobe r = 0.91, p < 0.01; left temporal lobe r = 0.86, p = 0.01). No changes were seen in other brain areas.
What it means for you
PMS may involve changes in brain blood flow that relate to mood changes. The study is preliminary and limited by the small sample size (only 7 women per group), so results need confirmation in larger studies.
7
Women with PMS in study
7
Control women in study
0.91
Right temporal lobe correlation coefficient
About the study
- Original title
- Changes in cerebral blood flow associated with premenstrual syndrome: a preliminary study
- Authors
- Buchpiguel C, Alavi A, Crawford D et al.
- Journal
- Journal of psychosomatic obstetrics and gynaecology
- Year
- 2000
- Study design
- Case-control study
- What was tested
- None - observational study comparing brain blood flow between periods
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.3109/01674820009075623
Topics
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