Premenstrual tension treated with vitamin A.

THE purpose of this paper is to communicate the results obtained in the treatment of cases of premenstrual tension by means of large daily doses of vitamin A administered during the second half of the menstrual cycle. The syndrome of premenstrual tension was described by Frank (1931 (1)) and its characteristic is the marked increase in the usual nervousness of the days immediately preceding menstruation. The syndrome manifests itself by subjective symptoms and somatic disorders of transitory, multiple and varied character. For convenience, they can be separated into three groups: 1) Symptoms referable to the nervous system, such as nervousness, emotional instability, insomnia, headache, psychic depression, physical asthenia, neuralgias, and fainting. 2) Tenderness of the abdomen and rapid increase in weight due to fluid retention, followed by a fall to the previous level immediately after menstruation. 3) Cyclomastopathies covering all the changes from simple painful distention of the breasts up to actual...