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CNN Live Today

Zoloft May Ease Extreme PMS

Aired May 21, 2002 - 11:27   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The FDA has approved a new treatment for women who suffer from a severe form of premenstrual syndrome. An anti-depressant sold under the name Zoloft may help women battling PMDD, which is known as Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.

Our medical correspondent Rhonda Rowland is here with details. So this is sort of like PMS plus 10?

RHONDA ROWLAND, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Or 20, even more so. It's very severe.

So, first of all, what I'll do is just clarify for the audience the difference. Most women have experienced regular PMS at sometime or another. It's a condition that usually lasts several days. It's characterized by irritability, bloating, crampy feelings. But with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, this is much more severe. It lasts two weeks out of every month. It begins when a woman ovulates and ends when she starts menstruating.

And this is something that effects just three to four percent of all women. And we have a list of some of the symptoms that differentiate this from regular PMS. And women usually have to have at least five of these symptoms, and they include: depressed mood, anxiety, tension, decreased interest in activities, difficulty concentrating, lack of energy. There are also some physical symptoms, including weight gain, bloating, breast tenderness.

And, again, to distinguish PMS from PMDD, it's by the severity of the symptoms. Now the FDA has just approved Zoloft. It's an anti- depressant, it's been on the market for at least 10 years. And they've approved it for this condition. And it seems that it helps with the seratonin in the brain. And it also appears to help about 60 percent of women who suffer from this PMDD.

And, Carol, what I think is interesting is women who suffer from this, they can take this anti-depressant either all month or just for two weeks out of the month and still get relief.

COSTELLO: See, that's so odd to me, because when you take it for depression it's kind of dangerous to go on and off it.

ROWLAND: Exactly. And usually when you take it for depression, you have to take it four to six weeks before you even get any of the benefits. So therefore doctors think that the mechanism with PMDD is different than for depression. But the good news is, is that they found a treatment. And this is not the only one. Prozac is also FDA approved to treat PMDD.

COSTELLO: You know something weird I found in this press release? The side effects of Zoloft sound just like the symptoms of this condition. Indigestion, feeling agitated, unusually sleepy, etcetera.

ROWLAND: There are some side effects for some women. But a lot of times when people take these medications, still the benefits outweigh those side effects, especially for these women, a lot of them cannot function on the job, they can't go to work, they have trouble with their relationships. And, also, if they try Zoloft and it doesn't work, they could always try one of the other SSRIs, like Prozac or Effexor, and see if that maybe helps them.

COSTELLO: Well that's good news, because people always joke about that and it's no joking matter.

ROWLAND: No, it's serious stuff.

COSTELLO: All right. Thanks, Rhonda.

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