Randomised trial, 2021
Does ulipristal acetate help premenstrual dysphoric disorder?
Yes. After 3 months, women taking ulipristal acetate had 41% improvement in symptoms versus 22% with placebo, and 50% achieved full remission versus 21% with placebo.
What they did
A randomized controlled trial of 95 women aged 18-46 with PMDD. Participants took either 5 mg of ulipristal acetate daily or placebo for 3 menstrual cycles. Symptoms were measured using the Daily Record of Severity of Problems scale.
What they found
Daily Record of Severity of Problems scores for the 5 days before menstruation fell 41% in the ulipristal acetate group versus 22% in placebo. Half the women taking ulipristal acetate achieved full remission (no symptom above a score of 3) compared with 21% in placebo. Women taking ulipristal acetate reported greater improvements in depression, anger, and fatigue.
What it means for you
Ulipristal acetate may help PMDD symptoms, especially depression, anger, and fatigue. It could be an option for the roughly 40% of women who do not respond to SSRIs. However, the study was relatively small and only tested the drug for 3 months.
41% vs 22%
Symptom improvement with ulipristal acetate versus placebo
50% vs 21%
Women achieving full remission with ulipristal acetate versus placebo
95
Total study participants
About the study
- Original title
- Progesterone Modulator May Offer PMDD Relief
- Authors
- Nick Zagorski
- Journal
- Psychiatric News
- Year
- 2021
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 95
- What was tested
- Ulipristal acetate 5 mg daily or placebo for 3 menstrual cycles
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2021.1.29
Topics
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