PMS Remedies
N E W Y O R K, Jan. 16 -- Millions of women retreat to their beds, baths and heating pads each month as they wait for their PMS to pass. But more of them are demanding better treatment options and physicians, herbalists and nutritionists are trying to meet their needs.
Experts estimate that more than one in three women, in their reproductive years, experience some form of premenstrual syndrome. Many of them have tried everything from eating pretzels to chewing calcium supplements to alleviate its sometimes-devastating symptoms.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania say they have come up with a new medical treatment for PMS. Ph80 — a medication in the form of a nasal spray — is in the second phase of clinical trials at nine different medical centers, and is probably a few years from being placed on the market.
"The interesting thing about it is its delivery system," ABCNEWS' Dr. Nancy Snyderman said. "It's inhaled through the nose, which is the fastest way to get the medicine into the body and brain."
PMS sufferers usually experience at least one of the following symptoms two weeks before their periods: bloating, depression, irritability, mood changes, weight gain, breast tenderness, swelling of hands and feet, aches and pains, poor concentration, sleep disturbance and change in appetite.
"But it's different for every woman, and some women don't even get it," Snyderman said.
Sniffing Toward Sanity?
The medicine, ph80, uses molecules, which like pheromones can influence physiology and behavior when breathed through the nose.
It is one of the first drugs developed to use the pheromone method of drug delivery, Snyderman said. Pheromones are chemical substances secreted by animals that serve as a kind of messaging system. They stimulate nerve receptors just inside the nasal passages.
When stimulated, those receptors send a signal to the hypothalamus, which regulates the endocrine and central nervous system.
"One of the big benefits of ph80 is that it produces quick relief in small doses, which means women can treat their PMS symptoms as they occur," Snyderman said. "But it's probably a few years away from regular use."
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