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~Seek first to understand, then be understood~
~*~*~*~*
If you're looking for information on a particular topic, type that word in the search box below. If I have written about that subject, a list of posts will appear. If no posts come up, I haven't written about it...yet. Emails, and questions in the comments section for possible posts, are welcome.
~*~*~*~*
I have a "friend" who shows up once a month. She turns my world upside down, over and over again.
I am a good person, caring and sweet, but when she comes to visit, I could rip off your head.
She takes no prisoners, foul words she does spout, I try to keep the words in, she lets them come out.
People don't understand me, or what this is about, to have this creature inside my head.
I despise who I am, half of the time, I feel sorry for my daughter, family and friends.
There's no way to describe it, for those who don't know, it's a living nightmare, she really needs to go.
~Neysia Manor, Rest in Peace

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Scientific Awareness of PMDD is not the Problem



Almost daily I hear someone mention how we need to raise awareness of PMDD, so that more studies of this debilitating disorder will be done, and someone can finally unlock the secret of what causes PMDD and how to successfully treat it.
So one day last August, a week before my most recent brain surgery, I was apparently looking for some challenging reading material when I got out of the hospital, (thinking positive, I imagine) so I spent an hour and a half clicking on links and printing out various scientific abstracts and studies I could find on PMDD.
In just that small segment of time, I found nearly 50 studies on PMDD, which broke down as follows:
2013 - 19
2009-2012 - 18
2006 - 2008 -  I already have most of these in my files, so did not print them out again
2001-2005 - 10
I am sure there have been countless more studies done in the past 14 years, but this was a random sampling of those I might not already have read, and I also chose not to print out many that were over 7 years old, as so much information about PMDD has changed since 2007. 
Of the 2001-2005 studies, I printed only those that might be of use in my research.  A list of titles appears below.  And yes, I do intend to read each study listed, and share with you in plain language anything that seems relevant.  But first I want to point out that in the scientific community, the problem is not awareness.  Scientists are well aware of PMDD and for what looks like mixed reasons.   An analysis of what those reasons might be will be the subject of a future post. 
For now I just want to repeat that awareness on a scientific level is not the problem.  Awareness in the medical community—short of misleading advertisements by drug companies—and awareness in our friends and families is.  Hopefully blogs like mine will help to rectify that situation for you and your loved ones. 
In the meantime, here is a list of the studies on PMDD I uncovered in less than two hours of searching.  If you think the list is dry reading, imagine reading the studies themselves :).  But like I said, it keeps my brain sharp. Not to mention I'm a total research geek and love it.
If you wish to read any of these studies yourself, you can Google the name provided.  I typed the titles exactly.   Just retype it yourself, or cut and paste the title into your browser.  These can all be found on the PubMed.gov site, which is part of the U.S.  National Library of Medicine, and the National Institutes of Health.  Many of them are abstracts, but you *can* find the full studies if you look hard enough.  Update: the first comment below tells you exactly how you can get copies of the full studies.
Enjoy!
2013
Comorbid bipolar disorder and PMDD: real patients, unanswered questions
Elevated gray matter volume of the emotional cerebellum in women with PMDD
Allopregnanolone serum concentrations and diurnal cortisol secretion in women with PMDD
Examination of premenstrual symptoms as a risk factor for depression in postpartum women
Luteal serum BDNF and HSP70 levels in women with PMDD
PMS and PMDD among Jordanian women
Circulating insulin and leptin in women with and without PMDD in the menstrual cycle
Abnormalities of dorsolateral prefrontal function in women with PMDD; a multimodal neuroimaging study
Lamotrigine augmentation in PMDD : a case report 
Depressive mood and frontal alpha asymmetry during the luteal phase in PMDD
PMDD and severe premenstrual syndrome in adolescents
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for PMS

Premenstrual disorders and rumination
Anger in women with PMDD: Its relations with PMDD and sociodemographic and clinical variables
Non contraceptive benefits of oral hormonal contraceptives
Premenstrual symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder in Japanese high school students 9 months 
after the great East-Japan earthquake
Personal history of major depression may put women at risk for premenstrual dysphoric symptomatology
A review of treatment and management modalities for PMDD
Biopsychosocial aspects of premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder
2012
Pilot investigation of the circadian plasma melatonin rhythm across the menstrual cycle in a small group of women with PMDD
Bipolar disorder and PMS or PMDD comorbidity: a systemic review
Survey of premenstrual symptom severity and impairment in Korean adolescents; PMDD subthreshold PMDD and PMS
Intercountry assessment of the impact of severe PMDD on work and daily activities
2011
Work stress, PMS and PMDD are there any associations?
Lifetime discrimination associated with greater likelihood of PMDD
Posttraumatic stress disorder and trauma characteristics of PMDD
Reduced Phase-Advance of Plasma Melatonin after bright morning lithe in the luteal, but not follicular menstrual cycle phase in PMDD: An extended study
Exposure to American culture is associated with PMDD among ethnic minority women
Health advantage for black women: patterns in PMDD
2010
Histories of major depression and PMDD: evidence for phenotypic differences
Neuroticism related personality traits are related to symptom severity in patients with PMDD and to the serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphism 5HTTPLPR
Predicting response to leuprolide of women with PMDD by daily mood rating dynamics
Estrogen receptor alpha (ESR-1) association with psychological traits in women with PMDD and controls
Increased sensitivity to light-induced melatonin suppression in PMDD
Prefrontal brain asymmetry and PMDD symptomatology
Explorative evaluation of the impact of severe PMDD on work absenteeism and productivity
2009
Safety, efficacy, actions and patient acceptability of (Yaz) contraceptive pills in the treatment of PMDD
2005
Lack of beneficial effects of clonidine in the treatment of PMDD: results of a double blind, randomized study
Histories of sexual abuse are associated with differential effects of clonidine on autonomic function in women wit PMDD
2004
Historic sexual abuse and current thyroid axis profiles in women with PMDD
2003
The prevalence, impairment, impact and burden of PMDD
Biological correlates of abuse in women with PMDD and healthy controls
2002
Prevalence, incidence and stability of PMDD in the community
Prevalence and predictors of PMDD in older premenopausal women. The Harvard Study of Moods and Cycles
2001
Characteristics of women with PMDD who did or did not report a history of depression: a preliminary report from the Harvard Study of Moods and Cycles
Allopregnanolone levels and reactivity to mental stress in PMDD

4 comments:

  1. You can always get a free PDF from the corresponding author. Their email address is given in PubMed in the abstract view for each paper.

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    1. THANK YOU so much for that piece of advice...I had not figured that out yet! This will save me a huge amount of time. Not to mention some money :). Thanks again!

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  2. wow, thanks for the list!! and good luck with your brain surgery.

    I think 19 papers a year is really a low number. but the number is growing each year so that is a good sign.

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    1. Hi, Dr. Stegman!
      Thank you for your comments on several posts. I agree with you completely. I am sure there were more than 19 papers published in 2013, but this was just a random sampling of what I was able to collect in a 90 minute time frame. Most likely I got called away to do something else, but if I had taken more time, I know I would have come up with more studies...

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