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Lamotrigine augmentation in premenstrual dysphoric disorder: a case report

Gianna Sepede1, Giovanni Martinotti, Francesco Gambi

  • 1Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G d'Annunzio University of Chieti, Chieti, Italy. g.sepede@unich.it

Clinical Neuropharmacology
|January 22, 2013
PubMed

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome, characterized by depressive, anxious, and somatic symptoms, associated to a significant reduction in social functioning and quality of life. Although selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and oral contraceptives show a substantial effectiveness in PMDD, a wide percentage of women affected by PMDD do not respond to those first-line treatments. We present the case of a 42-year-old woman, affected by a disabling form of PMDD, who partially responded to an SSRI treatment and significantly improved after an add-on therapy with lamotrigine. We therefore suggest that lamotrigine may be an efficacious and safe augmentation strategy in severe PMDD cases showing unsatisfactory or partial response to SSRI treatments.

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