Recent research on the treatment of premenstrual syndrome

Summary

The cause or causes of premenstrual syndrome are still uncertain and although there is considerable evidence that hormonal factors play an important role the research evidence is not suflcient or consistent enough to provide a reliable picture of the aetiology of the syndrome. As a result, treatment is primarily symptomatic and the results of the limited number of controlled clinical trials carried out with a variety of drug treatments, whilst showing them to be effective in between 50 % to 70% of patients in relieving certain symptoms, do not indicate the superiority of any one form of therapy. Recent research findings are briefly reviewed and management of the premenstrual syndrome patient is discussed.

Key Words::

• Premenstrual tension
• drug therapy
• hormone balance