Case report, 2020
Can removing a pituitary tumor cure severe PMDD?
In this one woman, removing a pituitary tumor led to full and lasting relief from her long-term PMDD symptoms, but this comes from a single case so it cannot tell us how often this would work for others.
What they did
Doctors described one 44-year-old woman with long-standing PMDD symptoms who had surgery to remove a non-functioning pituitary tumor. They tracked her hormone levels before and after surgery and followed her for 28 months afterward.
What they found
After the surgery, her PMDD symptoms fully went away. Her hormone levels stayed stable both before and after the operation. Over the 28 months of follow-up, she had stretches of 6 consecutive months or longer with no symptoms, without taking antidepressants.
What it means for you
This suggests that in rare cases, a pituitary tumor could be an under-recognized cause of severe, treatment-resistant PMS or PMDD, and that removing it may help. Because this is just one patient's experience with no comparison group, it cannot show how common this cause is or whether surgery would help other women with PMDD.
44
Age of the patient
28
Months of follow-up after surgery
6+ months
Longest symptom-free stretch
About the study
- Original title
- Full Remission of Long-Term Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder-Like Symptoms Following Resection of a Pituitary Adenoma: Case Report
- Authors
- Lu G, Shiver TM, Blackburn SL et al.
- Journal
- The American journal of case reports
- Year
- 2020
- Study design
- Case report
- What was tested
- Surgical removal of a pituitary tumor (transsphenoidal surgery)
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.12659/ajcr.922797
Topics
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