ABSTRACT
Suppression of ovarian function with pharmacotherapy4-6 or through surgical menopause7,8 eliminates the symptoms of PMDD. Moreover, symptoms are eliminated during pregnancy and are absent during nonovulatory cycles and after menopause.9 The most likely explanation is that women with PMDD are in some way vulnerable to the normal physiological changes associated with the menstrual cycle.3 This hypothesis was supported in one study where women with PMDD developed depressed mood in response to challenge with physiological levels of estrogen and progesterone compared with controls.10
