Effects of GABA active steroids in the female brain with a focus on the premenstrual dysphoric disorder

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder ( PMDD ) afflicts 3%‐5% of women of childbearing age, and is characterised by recurrent negative mood symptoms (eg, irritability, depression, anxiety and emotional lability) during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. The aetiology of PMDD is unknown, although a temporal association with circulating ovarian steroids, in particular progesterone and its metabolite allopregnanolone, has been established during...