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Stable serum levels of relaxin throughout the menstrual cycle: a preliminary comparison of women with premenstrual dysphoria and controls

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Summary

Serum levels of relaxin in 25 women with premenstrual dysphoria and 25 age-matched controls were determined at three time points during the menstrual cycle. At the same time, levels of estradiol, progesterone, 17-β-OH-progesterone, free testosterone, total testosterone, sex hormone binding hormone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, and 3-α-androstanediol glucuronide were determined. Detectable levels of relaxin were found in all women in both the follicular and luteal phase as well as around ovulation, the inter-individual variations being larger than intra-individual differences. The levels of relaxin were not influenced by the fluctuation of the other reproductive hormones. A significant difference between the two groups of women was observed, subjects with premenstrual dysphoria displaying reduced levels of relaxin (p < 0.05) compared to controls. Also, when analysed with respect to a variable number of tandem repeats polymorphism (CT repeats followed by GT repeats) in the promotor region of the relaxin H2 gene, women with premenstrual dysphoria (n = 29) were found to display significantly longer GT repeats than controls (n = 35).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, Section of Pharmacology, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden

    M. Pehrsson, L. Westberg & A. Ekman

  2. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry S:t Göran, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    M. Landén

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  1. M. Pehrsson
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  2. L. Westberg
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  3. M. Landén
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  4. A. Ekman
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Pehrsson, M., Westberg, L., Landén, M. et al. Stable serum levels of relaxin throughout the menstrual cycle: a preliminary comparison of women with premenstrual dysphoria and controls. Arch Womens Ment Health 10, 147–153 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-007-0186-8

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