Abstract
The syndrome of premenstrual tension consists of a number of physical and mental changes that women experience in the days immediately preceding menstruation. Some of these changes are edema, weight gain, headache, lower abdominal pain, back pain, irritability, and nervousness. | Characteristically, the symptoms disappear at the onset of menstruation. It is assumed that these symptoms may be due to a temporary disturbance in water and electrolyte metabolism. The cause of this disturbance is unknown. Some alteration in the posterior pituitary function may occur because of the cyclic production of ovarian steroids (1). This is postulated by Morton who shewed that the findings in premenstrual tension are dependent on an estrogen-progesterone imbalance with a relative excess of estrogen. Thorn (2) and his colleagues also found that changes in water and electrolyte metabolism were probably due to an estrogen-progesterone imbalance. They noted that injections of estrone as well as progesterone resulted in sodium, chloride, and water retention in normal dogs. Another group, Cavallero, Corbetta, and Melandra (3) suggested that with a changed steroid balance, more antidiuretic hormone (ADH) was produced. They had found that in ovariectomized rats there was a reduction in the antidiuretic hormone content of the pituitary that was not seen if the operated animals had been treated with estrogens. They stated that with a changed steroid balance, more ADH was produced.