Study, 1996
Does medroxyprogesterone acetate help premenstrual syndrome, and does taking a higher dose work better?
Yes, medroxyprogesterone acetate helps premenstrual syndrome. Taking a higher dose does not work better than a lower dose.
What they did
Doctors gave women with premenstrual syndrome one of two doses of medroxyprogesterone acetate (a synthetic progesterone-like hormone): either 20 mg per day or 40 mg per day. They gave it between day 15 and day 26 of the menstrual cycle. They measured how well it worked using a premenstrual syndrome index.
What they found
After 3 months of treatment, 67% of symptoms disappeared in both groups. The higher dose of 40 mg per day did not work better than 20 mg per day. Taking the medicine for longer than 3 months did not make symptoms disappear more, but it did help prevent symptoms from coming back.
What it means for you
Medroxyprogesterone acetate at 20 mg per day appears to be enough to help premenstrual syndrome, at least for 3 months. If you want to keep symptoms away longer, you may need to continue treatment. The main limitation is that this study did not include a control group of women who took nothing, so we cannot be completely sure the improvement was from the medicine rather than other factors.
67%
Symptom relief after 3 months
20 mg
Recommended daily dose
15-26
Days of cycle for treatment
About the study
- Original title
- [Therapy of premenstrual syndrome with medroxyprogesterone acetate in various dosages]
- Authors
- Szántó F, Hörömpöli C
- Journal
- Orvosi hetilap
- Year
- 1996
- Study design
- Study
- What was tested
- Medroxyprogesterone acetate at 20 mg/day or 40 mg/day given from day 15-26 of menstrual cycle.
- Read the paper
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8757088/