Role of bromocriptine and pyridoxine in premenstrual tension syndrome.

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a universal problem of women of reproductive age group. No satisfactory treatment is available to treat this syndrome till date. Sixty female patients with PMS in age group of 20-45 years were interviewed. A detailed history and 20 premenstrual symptoms were included for making the diagnosis of PMS. Premenstrual symptom score of each patient was recorded before treatment. Patients were followed up monthly for 3 months after starting treatment, to ascertain the change in score. The patients were divided into 3 groups of 20 patients each - control group, bromocriptine group and pyridoxine group. In control group, patients were kept on ferrous sulphate tablet 100 mg for 3 months, as placebo. There was no significant change in the premenstrual symptoms score at the end of the study period in control group. Bromocriptrine 2.5 mg twice a day and pyridoxine 100 mg/day showed a significant reduction in the mean premenstrual symptom score after 3 months of treatment. It is concluded that both the drugs are effective for treatment of premenstrual syndrome but, pyridoxine showed significantly higher response rate and lesser incidence of side effects than bromocriptine.