Study, 1942
What causes premenstrual tension and can progesterone help?
The paper reviews existing theories suggesting premenstrual tension is caused by too much estrogen or problems with progesterone, but this is a discussion of ideas rather than results from a new study.
What they did
Review of existing research and theories about emotional and physical changes during the menstrual cycle and their possible causes.
What they found
Previous researchers proposed that premenstrual tension is caused either by too much estrogen that the body cannot get rid of, or by problems with progesterone production combined with too much estrogen. One prior paper showed that giving progesterone to women in the first part of the cycle changed their menstrual rhythm in ways similar to what happens in baboons.
What it means for you
The paper discusses several possible explanations for why some women experience premenstrual tension and mentions progesterone as a potential treatment. The main limitation is that this reviews other people's ideas and does not describe new research findings.
About the study
- Original title
- The Nature of the Subjective Reactions Evoked in Women by Progesterone with Special Reference to the Problem of Premenstrual Tension1
- Authors
- J Gillman
- Journal
- The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
- Year
- 1942
- Study design
- Study
- What was tested
- Progesterone (discussed as a potential treatment, not tested in this paper).
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1210/jcem-2-3-157
Topics
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