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. 2014 Jan;11(1):95-101.
doi: 10.4306/pi.2014.11.1.95. Epub 2014 Jan 21.

Low-dose acetazolamide in the treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder: a case series

Gabriele Sani  1 , Georgios D Kotzalidis  2 , Isabella Panaccione  3 , Alessio Simonetti  1 , Lavinia De Chiara  1 , Antonio Del Casale  2 , Elisa Ambrosi  2 , Flavia Napoletano  1 , Delfina Janiri  2 , Emanuela Danese  2 , Nicoletta Girardi  2 , Chiara Rapinesi  2 , Daniele Serata  2 , Giovanni Manfredi  1 , Alexia E Koukopoulos  1 , Gloria Angeletti  1 , Ferdinando Nicoletti  4 , Paolo Girardi  5
Affiliations

Low-dose acetazolamide in the treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder: a case series

Gabriele Sani et al. Psychiatry Investig. 2014 Jan.

Abstract

The treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is far from satisfactory, as there is a high proportion of patients who do not respond to conventional treatment. The antidiuretic sulfonamide, acetazolamide, inhibits carbonic anhydrase and potentiates GABAergic transmission; the latter is putatively involved in PMDD. We therefore tried acetazolamide in a series of women with intractable PMDD. Here, we describe a series of eight women diagnosed with DSM-IV-TR PMDD, five of whom had comorbidity with a mood disorder and one with an anxiety disorder, who were resistant to treatment and responded with symptom disappearance after being added-on 125 mg/day acetazolamide for 7-10 days prior to menses each month. Patients were free from premenstrual symptoms at the 12-month follow-up. We suggest that acetazolamide may be used to improve symptoms of PMDD in cases not responding to other treatments. GABAergic mechanisms may be involved in counteracting PMDD symptoms.

Keywords: Acetazolamide; GABA transmission; Premenstrual dysphoric disorder; Sulfonamide diuretics.

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