Study, 1991
Does stopping ovulation with danazol help severe PMS?
Yes. When women took danazol and stopped ovulating, 20 out of 23 cycles had no symptoms, compared to 6 out of 32 cycles when they were still ovulating. This shows a clear difference.
What they did
Twenty-four women with severe dysphoric PMS first took a placebo for one month. Then they took 200 mg of danazol daily for 90 days. They recorded their symptoms every day using a standard form before, during, and after treatment. Researchers compared their symptoms during months when they weren't ovulating to months when they were ovulating.
What they found
During periods when women were not ovulating, 20 out of 23 cycles had no symptoms. During periods when they were still ovulating, only 6 out of 32 cycles had no symptoms. The benefit of danazol appeared to come from stopping ovulation and hormonal cycling, not from the drug itself.
What it means for you
Danazol helps severe PMS mainly by stopping the hormonal cycle. This suggests that interrupting hormone cycling is effective. The main limits are that this was a relatively small study and it doesn't tell us how long benefits last after stopping the drug or whether it works for milder PMS.
24
women studied
200
mg danazol daily dose
20 of 23
anovulatory cycles symptom-free
About the study
- Original title
- Elimination of ovulation and menstrual cyclicity (with danazol) improves dysphoric premenstrual syndromes
- Authors
- Halbreich U, Rojansky N, Palter S
- Journal
- Fertility and sterility
- Year
- 1991
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 24
- What was tested
- 200 mg daily danazol for 90 days
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/s0015-0282(16)54718-9
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