INTERMITTENT FLUOXETINE DOSING IN THE TREATMENT OF WOMEN WITH PREMENSTRUAL DYSPHORIA

Some women experience premenstrual mood symptoms that severely disrupt their lives and relationships. These women often require pharmacologi c treatment. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, particularly dai ly fluoxetine, have been proven superior to placebo in several randomi zed controlled trials. Twenty-four women with confirmed premenstrual d ysphoric disorder (PMDD) and with a history of affective disorders or alcoholism were treated with fluoxetine 20 mg/day (continuous), and 24 women with PMDD and no psychiatric history were treated with fluoxeti ne 20 mg/day for 14 days premenstrually only (intermittent). Both grou ps received treatment for three menstrual cycles. Sixteen women (66.7% ) in the continuous dosing group and 18 women (75.0%) in the intermitt ent group were classified as treatment responders. Intermittent dosing of fluoxetine seems to be effective and mostly free of side effects i n women with PMDD and, therefore, may offer an attractive treatment op tion for a disorder that is itself intermittent.