Downs Laura L
The New York Presbyterian Hospital, Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic, New York, USA.
J Forensic Sci. 2002 Sep;47(5):1083-9.
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is believed to affect up to 90% of women of reproductive age. A small subset of women have been identified who actually experience psychotic symptoms in the premenstrual phase of their cycles. Not surprisingly, PMS has made it into the courts where it has been offered as a defense for criminal acts. The defense has generally fared poorly in the United States, although it has been successfully used as a factor in supporting diminished capacity in Great Britain. The following paper sets out to review the medical literature on premenstrual syndrome with a particular focus on premenstrual psychosis. Available literature from both medical and legal sources is then utilized to investigate instances in which premenstrual psychosis has been invoked as a defense in the courts.
经前综合征（PMS）被认为影响多达90%的育龄女性。一小部分女性已被确认在其月经周期的经前期阶段会出现精神症状。不出所料，经前综合征已进入法庭，被用作刑事犯罪行为的辩护依据。在美国，这种辩护通常不太成功，不过在英国，它已被成功用作支持减轻刑事责任能力的一个因素。以下论文旨在回顾关于经前综合征的医学文献，特别关注经前精神病。然后利用来自医学和法律来源的现有文献，调查经前精神病在法庭上被用作辩护的案例。
