View clinical trials related to Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.
Filter by:Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a sex-specific depressive disorder where depressive symptom severity drastically changes in relation to menstrual cycle phase. It is characterized by late luteal phase symptoms of affective lability, irritability, depressed mood, and anxiety. A lot remains unclear and further studies are needed in order to improve the understanding of PMDD and to differentiate it from major depressive disorder (MDD). To date, and in contrast to MDD, the neural correlates of PMDD have been sparsely and poorly investigated. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate the neural correlates of PMDD as compared to MDD and to relate them to stress reactivity. Therefore, three groups of naturally cycling women will be investigated and compared, namely (1) women with MDD, (2) women with PMDD, and (3) healthy control women. Stress and HPA axis activity are assumed to play a crucial role in the development of many mental disorders, including MDD. How stress reactivity and HPA axis activity are connected to PMDD still needs to be investigated. Furthermore, the HPA axis can affect or suppress the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, which is involved mainly in the reproductive, but also the immune system, making it an important candidate for the investigation of sex-specific differences in stress reactivity. There are sex-specific differences in stress reactivity, but also in the prevalence of stress-related diseases. Women are twice as likely to suffer from depression than men and the first onset of MDD usually peaks during the reproductive years. As to why these differences exist, a recent theory suggests that ovarian hormone fluctuations function as modulators of women's susceptibility to stress and that altered reactivity to stressors during different cycle phases plays a role in the etiology of depressive disorders. This hypothesis extends the Social Signal Transduction Theory of Depression which first and foremost relates depression to inflammation. They postulate a critical role of cytokines for understanding the pathogenesis of depression. Therefore, ovarian hormone fluctuations, but also inflammation in regard to MDD and PMDD and stress reactivity will be investigated in this study.
This study is a pilot, randomized, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the treatment of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder comorbid with Bipolar Disorder using combined oral contraceptives. Lay Summary: This study is being done with the hope of finding a safe and effective treatment for individuals who experience both bipolar disorder and severe premenstrual symptoms. As part of this clinical trial, participants will receive either a combined oral contraceptive (i.e. oral birth control pills) as a treatment for severe premenstrual symptoms or a placebo (a pill without any active components - similar to a sugar pill). People that are enrolled in this study will either receive the treatment or the placebo for a period of 90 days. During this time, people that are participating in the study will fill out some questionnaires, and their mental and physical health will be monitored by the study physicians. One of the goals of this study is to also understand whether it is feasible (practical) to do a larger clinical trial using this treatment in this group of people.