Women with severe PMS more sensitive to pain
NEW YORK, Mar 03
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NEW YORK, Mar 03 (Reuters Health) -- Women with a severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) are different -- and researchers have the proof.
Results of a new study show that women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) are more sensitive to pain than other women. In addition, women with PMDD have lower levels of beta-endorphins -- natural pain-killers -- in their blood, according to the report presented Friday at the American Psychosomatic Society annual meeting in Savannah, Georgia.
PMDD may affect up to 10% of women in the childbearing age group. Symptoms include depression, pain and anxiety around the time of a period. In a previous study, researchers led by Dr. Susan S. Girdler of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that women with PMDD have abnormal levels of stress hormones -- high norepinephrine but low cortisol -- throughout their menstrual cycles.
In the new study, Girdler and colleagues measured beta-endorphin levels and pain sensitivity in 27 women with PMDD, and compared them with women of the same age who did not have PMDD.
The researchers found that women with PMDD were more sensitive to pain, and had lower levels of beta-endorphins in their blood. "The lower beta-endorphin hormone levels mirror lower tolerance and sensitivity to pain in PMDD women," study co-author Dr. Patricia A. Straneva told Reuters Health in a telephone interview.
These differences held, regardless of which phase of the menstrual cycle the women were in at the time of the study.
"This study shows that dysregulation of pain sensitivity and beta-endorphin levels is evident in the follicular phase as well as the luteal phase in PMDD women," Straneva added.
The researchers believe that their study is the first to connect beta-endorphin levels to pain sensitivity in PMDD. "Our findings suggest that alterations in the (body's own) opioids, specifically beta-endorphins, may contribute to the significant physical distress that PMDD women also experience each month," Girdler said in a statement.
The researchers conclude that PMDD has a biological basis, and these biological differences are present throughout the menstrual cycle. In the long run, the findings may lead to the development of drugs to treat and prevent PMDD.
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