Natural vaginal progesterone is associated with minimal psychological side effects: A preliminary study.

Shanta S, Brooks-Gunn J, Locke RJ, et al.
J Womens Health Gend Based Med
2001:10:991-997.

The objective of this 3-month preliminary study was to evaluate the psychologic side effects produced by a transvaginal natural progesterone gel used as hormone replacement therapy. The study consisted of 49 women who ranged in age from 18 to 45 years. Forty of those women exhibited hypothalamic amenorrhea and 9 suffered from premature ovarian failure. Estrogenized patients applied vaginal progesterone gel (4% or 8%) every other day for 6 doses per month. The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL), a psychometric profile test, was administered at baseline, on day 13 of cycle 2, on day 24 of cycle 2 and on day 24 of cycle 3. The application of the progesterone gel caused no significant change in HSCL total scores or in individual symptom scores for somatization, obsession-compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, and anxiety.

CONCLUSION: Transvaginal natural progesterone gel can be an effective alternative to oral progesterone for women receiving hormone replacement therapy.

excerpt from RXTriad, April 2002