London - Mini-doses of Prozac could end the monthly misery of PMS, scientists believe.
They say the irritability and mood swings of pre-menstrual syndrome are caused by plummeting levels of progesterone, a hormone that keeps a lid on emotions.
Prozac raises levels of this natural sedative and so should stop a woman’s mood fluctuating in the run-up to her period. The doses given would be much smaller than those used to treat depression – cutting the risk of the side-effects that have dogged Prozac’s use in psychiatry.
A waste product of progesterone called allopregnanolone, or allo, acts as a tranquilliser and keeps the brain circuits that control emotions calm.
When progesterone falls, the amount of this sedative falls and emotions run riot.
Bristol University researcher Thelma Lovick, whose study is published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, has shown that Prozac raises levels of allo in rats.
She hopes the treatment will also ease other symptoms of PMS, including bloating and lethargy, and plans to start tests on women soon. Women would be prescribed doses much lower than those used to treat depression – around a fifth – and take one pill a day for a week from when they first show signs of PMS. - Daily Mail