UCSD Reseacher is seeking volunteers aged 20-75 for research evaluating depression related to PMS, Pregnancy, Postpartum and Menopause

Women, as compared with men, have a greater lifetime risk for depression. Depression can be associated with the use of oral contraceptives, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and the postpartum period and menopause. The fluctuation of reproductive hormones during these times may contribute to this predilection for depression in women.

The UCSD Department of Psychiatry, under lead investigator Barbara L. Parry, M.D., is conducting several research studies to evaluate treatment options for women experiencing mood, sleep or behavioral disturbances induced by changing reproductive hormones. Volunteers, including women who are not experiencing symptoms of depression (healthy comparison subjects), are needed to participate in the studies.

All research studies take place at UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest.

Dr. Parry is a professor of psychiatry and research director of the women and depression clinic at UCSD, where she joined the faculty in 1985. Her focus is on the hormonal basis of mood disorders in women, specifically premenstrual, pregnancy, postpartum and menopausal depression and the use of sleep and light interventions.

For more information, call 619-543-7393.