A recent study found that women who suffer from severe premenstrual syndrome (about 3-5% of menstruating women) can be helped with the antidepressant drug Zoloft. Sixty-two percent of the women who took Zoloft showed “much or very much improvement,” as compared to 34% of the women who took a placebo. Prior studies have established that other depressants, including Anafranil, Prozac and Paxil, can effectively treat severe menstrual symptoms.
Two hundred women participated in the study, funded by Zoloft’s manufacturer Pfizer, Inc. The FDA has not approved Zoloft as a treatment for PMS.
