In a study, conducted by researchers at Columbia University, the question of whether the fluctuations in calcium-regulating hormone levels that occur during the menstrual cycle occur differently in women diagnosed with PMDD compared with women who do not have PMDD was tested.
All women who participated in the study completed a two-month self-assessment and one month of hormonal evaluation. In both groups of women –- women who had PMDD and women who did not have PMDD –- levels of calcium-regulating hormones varied significantly during the menstrual cycle. However, the group of women with PMDD experienced significantly lower amounts of calcium-regulating hormones during menstruation, and during the late follicular phase, the midcycle phase, and the early luteal and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle.
What did researchers learn from this study? The researchers now believe that the cyclic fluctuations of calcium-regulating hormones can help us to better understand many of the physical and emotional symptoms associated with PMDD. They also believe that the significant decline of a calcium-regulating hormone called 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25-(OH)2D) that occurs during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, in women who have PMDD, might be the biological trigger for the typical symptoms of PMDD.
Source:
Thys-Jacobs, Susan; McMahon, Don; Bilezikian, John P.; Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism; Vol. 92, No. 8 2952-2959; http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/92/8/2952; accessed 08/29/07.
