Rationale: The months following childbirth are a time when women are suscep
tible to depressive disorders, which may be severe and have long-lasting se
rious adverse consequences. The illnesses remain often unrecognized and unt
reated? and can be resistant to conventional psychiatric treatment methods.
Objective: We report two patients with postpartum depression, who had low
serum oestradiol together with psychiatric symptoms, and who responded succ
essfully to treatment with oestradiol. Methods: The serum oestradiol concen
tration was measured at baseline and weekly during treatment with sublingua
l 17-beta oestradiol for 8 weeks. The treatment effect was evaluated using
the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale. Results: Both patients had a
low pretreatment oestradiol concentration (36-120 and 31 pmol/l). During t
reatment with oestradiol, the decline of depressive symptoms coincided with
a rise in serum oestradiol. Conclusions: Oestradiol may be causally relate
d to postpartum depression and have significance in the treatment of this c
ondition.