PCOS is a common syndrome that features endocrine system disorders. The symptoms of polycystic ovarian syndrome affect ten percent of the world’s women and is also the leading cause of infertility. As far as autoimmune diseases go, it is largely unknown and relatively new. There are doctors working literally around the clock in order to understand the causes of the disease, which currently include the patient’s resistance to insulin, genetics, medical history, and weight.
The conditions occur when the ovaries of a patient are too stimulated and begin to produce excessive amounts of testosterone and other male hormones. Many patients with PCOS present with one or more ovarian follicles or cysts which form as the ovary releases an egg. The disease also can result in infertility which is also sometimes not able to be reversed.
The condition can occur at any age and is often left undiagnosed for a year or two due to its vagueness. Typically, various patients will experience wide ranges of different types of symptoms but the ones that tend to be more common include menstrual disorders, lack of ovulation, hirsutism, and noticeable weight gain.
The presence of ovarian cysts used to be an indicator of the condition as well but was eventually dropped since not all women with cysts have PCOS and vice versa. In late 2003, the criteria for diagnosing polycystic ovary syndrome included that a person must have at least two of the above mentioned symptoms in order to be diagnosed.
In order to get to a diagnosis of polycystic ovarian syndrome, a physician will first look at the woman’s medical and family history. A visual exam will confirm or rule out the presence of other signs such as a lot of extra body hair, noticeable weight gain, and facial acne. A blood test and vaginal exam will be done as well to look for increased hormone levels and ovarian cysts.
Once a good diagnosis has been made, the woman’s physician can then work on creating a treatment plan. This serious syndrome sadly can not be completely cured but most of its signs can be properly managed. Certain medicine can be taken to help decrease a person’s insulin levels and a low carb diet paired with regular workouts can help in the weight loss.
Sometimes losing the excess weight is enough to jump-start or reinstate a woman’s fertility. If not, then certain medications and invasive treatments can be implemented. In many cases, progesterone and anti-androgen contraceptive pills are prescribed to patients. These medications are often successful in alleviating a patient’s acne and excessive body hair. They can lessen or even ameliorate painful ovary cysts as well.
Though the cause of the disease is not totally known by scientist just yet, most of them postulate that a patient’s genetics might play a much bigger role than was once theorized. It has not been thoroughly proven, but many studies have found that polycystic ovarian syndrome might be hereditary in a lot of cases. The female relative of a girl who has been given a diagnosis of PCOS has nearly a fifty percent chance of getting it herself. The syndrome has been determined to be passed via her paternal side as well.