Med. Professor publishes study on relieving PMS

Relief might be in sight for women suffering from premenstrual syndrome, as a result of a new University study. The study, which was published in the this week's Journal of the American Medical Association, reports that the tranquilizer Xanax can relieve symptoms suffered by women with PMS. And the study found that the hormone progesterone, which is commonly prescribed for the treatment of PMS, is not effective. These findings come in the wake of a recent Canadian study that showed the antidepressant drug Prozac is effective in treating PMS. Xanax was determined to be "significantly" better than placebo or progesterone in reducing the overall severity of premenstrual symptoms, particularly improving mental function and mood, as well as in alleviating pain, the study reported. The study, which included 170 women, age 18 to 46, lasted for a three month trial and tested the efficacy of oral progesterone, Xanax and a placebo. Of those taking Xanax, 37 percent experienced a 50 percent reduction in symptoms, compared with 29 percent from progesterone and 30 percent from the placebo. Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology Ellen Freeman, the principle author of the study, said that the Xanax discovery is important because it could help those women who were not aided by the use of Prozac. "This is a different kind of drug that could help the other women," Freeman said. The Prozac study, which was published in last month's New England Journal of Medicine, indicated that about half the women who took Prozac had an improvement in PMS symptoms. Freeman said any new research on PMS is exciting because five to 10 years ago there was no information on the subject. PMS afflicts two percent to 10 percent of menstruating women, and is marked by irritability, tension, mood swings, anxiety, confusion, swelling, depression, fatigue, insomnia, aches or other symptoms before each cycle. One issue the use of Xanax brought up was that of dependency. But Freeman contends that dependency is not a problem because the women take the drug for such a short time. Unlike Prozac, which is taken every day, Xanax is only taken for about 10 days while the PMS symptoms persist, Freeman explained. Xanax, made by UpJohn, is also known as alprazolam and is part of a class of anti-anxiety drugs called benzodiazapines.

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