Ineffectiveness of progesterone suppository treatment for premenstrual syndrome
E. Freeman, K. Rickels, S. J. Sondheimer and M. Polansky
Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104.
Progesterone is the most widely used treatment for premenstrual syndrome.
To answer definitely the question of whether progesterone suppositories are
effective for the treatment of premenstrual syndrome, a randomized,
placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover study of 168 women, receiving
progesterone in doses of 400 and 800 mg or placebo, was carried out.
Premenstrual symptoms were not significantly improved by progesterone
compared with placebo in any measure used in the study, including daily
symptom reports maintained throughout treatment, clinician evaluation of
improvement, and patient global reports of symptoms severity, relief, and
disruption of daily activity. No symptom cluster or individual symptom
differed significantly between progesterone and placebo treatment. These
treatment results were not significantly affected by fluctuations in
response during the placebo washout period, pretreatment levels of
depression or anxiety at either postmenstrual or premenstrual times, or any
of 19 other background, medical history, or symptom variables examined
individually as covariates with treatment.
