If you really want to understand Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), you'd better have a pretty good understanding of the normal menstrual cycle.

It's been a year and a half now since TCR last took up the perennially hot topic of SSRI use in pregnancy (TCR Vol 1, No 5, 2003).

Over the last few years, the concept of menopause has hit the national radar screen with a vengeance. One of the reasons for the onslaught of publicity was a nasty bit of research news released in 2002, when the initial results of the Women's Health Initiative Study were made public (JAMA. 2002; 288:321-333).

Dr. Viguera, what are your responsibilities in the Perinatal and Reproductive Psychiatry Program?

The concept of a difficult spell preceding the menstrual period in some women is not new. Hippocrates was said to have noted it, and in 1847, Dr. Ernst von Feuchtersleben said, "The menses in sensitive women is almost always attended by mental uneasiness, irritability, and sadness."