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Arch Womens Ment Health (2009) 12:363364 DOI 10.1007/s00737-009-0093-2
BOOK REVIEW
Menstrual psychosis and the catamenial process
Brockington, I. Eyry Press, Bredenbury. 2008
Grace Parr
Published online: 21 July 2009 # Springer-Verlag 2009
Menstrual psychosis is a debilitating illness that affects women worldwide, and seems to have flown under the radar as of late. Described as an acute onset of psychotic features with brief duration and full recovery in a circa-menstrual rhythm with the menstrual cycle, Brockington provides an historical account of our knowledge of this disorder to date against a background of physiological, psychological, and known clinical associations of the disease. World-renowned for his expertise of postpartum depressive and altered mood states and the effects of these illnesses on maternalinfant bonding, Brockington has the ability to bring this much dismissed disorder back into the knowledge base of practitioners involved in women's health care.
The first three sections of the book provide a basis for our understanding of menstrual psychosis to date. Brock-ington begins the first section with a physiological base for the catamenial process. A unique review of historical connections to our current knowledge of anatomy, chemistry, pathology, and therapeutics of the hypothalamic, pituitary, ovarian, and endometrial levels of the catamenial process is outlined.
The second section explores the history of medicine and menstruation. An extensive literature review of medical conditions related to cyclic hormonal fluctuations is summarized. Brockington cleverly limits his review to disorders potentially linked to menstrual psychosis in an attempt to learn from the strategies of investigation employed by past practitioners and to learn from their...