Survey study, 1993
Is there a biological marker for dysphoric PMS that can be detected in blood?
Possibly. Women with dysphoric PMS showed increased receptor binding in blood platelets that correlated with symptom severity, but evidence comes from a very small study.
What they did
Cross-sectional study examining binding to imidazoline and alpha 2 adrenergic receptors in blood platelets of women with dysphoric PMS compared with those without, measured in two menstrual cycle phases.
What they found
Women with dysphoric PMS had increased binding to both receptor types, most pronounced during the late-luteal symptomatic phase. Binding to the imidazoline site distinguished women with dysphoric PMS from those without, was highly correlated with symptom severity, and was negatively correlated with plasma progesterone levels.
What it means for you
Platelet binding sites might be a biological marker for dysphoric PMS risk and suggest a link between dysphoric PMS and major depression. This finding needs much larger studies to confirm. Sample size was not specified in the abstract, making firm conclusions impossible.
About the study
- Original title
- Increased imidazoline and alpha 2 adrenergic binding in platelets of women with dysphoric premenstrual syndromes
- Authors
- Halbreich U, Piletz JE, Carson S et al.
- Journal
- Biological psychiatry
- Year
- 1993
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 2
- What was tested
- None
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/0006-3223(93)90040-k
Topics
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