Oral Contraceptive Yaz About as Effective as Antidepressants in Treating Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, Study Says

Yaz - an oral contraceptive made by the German pharmaceutical company... Schering -- is about as effective as antidepressants in treating symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder, a severe form of premenstrual syndrome, according to a study scheduled to be published in the September issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology, AFX/Forbes reports. Kimberly Yonkers, an associate professor at the Yale University School of Medicine, and colleagues conducted a double-blind clinical trial involving 450 women with symptoms of PMDD at 64 U.S. medical centers. The researchers found that 48.8% of women taking Yaz showed improvement in symptoms, compared with 36.1% of women taking a placebo. Researchers said Yaz was about as effective at reducing PMDD symptoms as serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which are commonly used as antidepressants (AFX/Forbes, 8/31). However, Yaz might be more efficient than serotonin reuptake inhibitors for women seeking contraception in addition to control of PMDD because they would only have to take one treatment, Yonkers said (Yale release, 8/30). Yaz, which is a low-dose version of Schering's FDA-approved contraceptive pill Yasmin, contains ethinyl estradiol and drospirenone and is taken once a day for 24 days followed by four days of placebo to induce a menstrual period. Most oral contraceptives are taken for 21 consecutive days followed by seven days of placebos (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 11/19/04). GlaxoSmithKline's Paxil, Pfizer's Zoloft, and Eli Lilly's Prozac and Sarafem -- all antidepressants -- are the only drugs approved by the FDA to treat PMDD (Fay Cortez, Bloomberg, 8/31). FDA in November 2004 sent an "approvable letter" to Schering subsidiary Berlex for Yaz. To receive FDA approval, Berlex must supply the agency with additional data to support the clinical benefit of the pill's dosing regimen (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 11/19/04). NIH estimates that between 3% and 8% of women suffer from PMDD during their reproductive years (Bloomberg, 8/31).


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