Women’s monthly mood swings could soon be treatable
Ladies, here’s some good news! Your monthly mood swings could soon be treatable, claim scientists.
A team at Umea University in Sweden says that women who suffer from severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and mood swings once a month may soon be able to reduce the symptoms as it may be easily treatable.
Their research in to premenstrual syndrome showed the affliction was due to a hormone that occurs naturally in the body. But women suffer the physical and emotional symptoms of PMS depending on sensitivity to the allopregnanolone hormone.
The hormone is released in the body after ovulation and during pregnancy, and when changes occur in the course of the menstrual cycle. Most women are more sensitive to the hormone immediately after menstruation, and less sensitive before. However women who suffer severe symptoms of PMS experience the opposite — a high sensitivity before their period — that may mean they’ve less ability to adapt to hormonal variations. So, a high sensitivity to allopregnanolone before menstruation results in mood swings and heightened emotions before menstruation.
In the research, women were given allopregnanolone in doses that elevated the amount in their blood to levels normally seen during pregnancy. The team recorded a fatiguing effect in the form of slower eye movement and increased feeling of tiredness, ‘The Daily Telegraph’ reported.
Erika Timby, who led the team, said: “We have studied few women, but this is one of the first studies to examine the effects of this particular metabolite from the corpus luteus hormone in humans.
“Greater knowledge of the underlying mechanisms of pronounced PMS can ultimately provide clues for new methods of treatment.”
