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1 results

  • Estrogen, menstrual cycle phases, and psychopathology in women suffering from schizophrenia

  • NIELS BERGEMANN, PETER PARZER, BENNO RUNNEBAUM, FRANZ RESCH, CHRISTOPH MUNDT
  • Journal:
    Psychological Medicine / Volume 37 / Issue 10 / October 2007
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    24 April 2007, pp. 1427-1436
  • Background

    Estrogen has been hypothesized to have a protective and antipsychotic-like effect in women at risk for schizophrenia. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between menstrual cycle and/or estrogen levels and psychotic symptoms in a sample of women with schizophrenia.

    Method

    One hundred and twenty-five premenopausal women with schizophrenia and regular menses were examined. The levels of 17β-estradiol and other hormones of the gonadal axis were assessed in the follicular, peri-ovulatory, and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. The effects of the menstrual cycle phase and/or the estradiol level on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) scores were calculated by means of regression analyses.

    Results

    Significant improvement in psychotic, but not depressive, symptoms was observed during the luteal phase, compared with other days of the menstrual cycle.

    Conclusions

    The present findings indicate that estradiol may have specific antipsychotic-like effects on the symptoms of schizophrenia. Thus further investigation into the therapeutic effect of estrogen may be worthwhile.