AI Article Synopsis

  • The study investigates whether hormone levels fluctuate differently in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) compared to those without, across the menstrual cycle.
  • Using advanced blood testing techniques, researchers found that progesterone was the only hormone showing significant changes between these groups, specifically an earlier increase and sharper decline in PMDD participants.
  • The findings emphasize the need to study the periovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle more closely, as rapid changes in progesterone may contribute to negative mood symptoms associated with PMDD.

Article Abstract

It is presently not known whether endogenous neuroactive steroid hormone trajectories across the menstrual cycle are distinguishable in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). To improve the rigor in this area of research, we implemented a validated study methodology, involving blood sample collection at 8 key menstrual cycle timepoints, following which the study data is realigned so that all women are compared at the same biological window (i.e., menstrual cycle subphase). Using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), we analyzed serum levels of nine steroid hormones previously implicated in the etiology of PMDD, including allopregnanolone. Other than progesterone (p ≤ 0.001), none of the steroid hormones displayed significant changes across menstrual cycle subphases when comparing participants with PMDD to the healthy controls. A thorough investigation of the progesterone trajectory showed that its left shift in the luteal phase (e.g., earlier rise in progesterone) exposes women with PMDD to a higher periovulatory progesterone and a more acute withdrawal in the late luteal subphase. Results of the present study indicate that the largely overlooked brief periovulatory subphase should be thoroughly examined in PMDD and agree with prior conclusions that rapid progesterone withdrawal associates with the development of negative affect.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41380-024-02566-wDOI Listing

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