Word: menstrual
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Although this excuse would have made little headway with judges a few years ago, the example of two English cases in which sentences were reduced because of the defendants' menstrual stress inspired Santos's lawyer to use it as a legal defense. Referring to her client's complaint by its medical moniker, Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS), defense attorney Stephanie Benson claimed that Santos was suffering from an extreme case of PMS when she beat her child. Santos had blacked out because of the condition, Benson asserted; she was therefore unable to feel the "criminal intent" that would make her responsible...
...abdominal pain and violent outbursts have all been cited as symptoms of the syndrome, which, manifesting a wide range of quirks in a wide range of women, apparently follows no consistent pattern or course. Therefore, the court would have had to accept on faith Santos's claims that her menstrual stress related to her behavior...
...addition, while most American women experience some degree of menstrual or pre-menstrual discomfort, only a small number of these have ever reported the kind of rage that would cause an otherwise gentle mother to attack her child. Some question exists, therefore, about whether PMS can be properly classified as a disease at all; other aspects of a woman's physical or emotional health may have a significant impact on how she reacts under menstrual stress...
Some physical disorders appear to be linked to an imbalance of prostaglandins. Too little of a type that regulates gastric acid and protects the stomach lining has a role in the development of ulcers. Too much of a PG that causes uterine contraction may provoke menstrual cramps. Other PGs play a part in arthritis, while leukotrienes, PG-related compounds identified by Samuelsson, are implicated in asthma...
...link between ovulation and exercise may also involve a natural opium-like substance, beta-endorphin, that pours into the bloodstream during stressful workouts. Beta-endorphin has been shown to suppress female hormones regulating the menstrual cycle. In any case, for women runners being treated for infertility, good advice seems to be: stop running...