The pathophysiology of polycystic ovary syndrome
Abstract
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous disorder of uncertain aetiology, which affects between 6 and 10% of women of the reproductive age. The heterogeneity of both the ovarian morphology and clinical findings in women with polycystic ovaries has been well recognized since Stein & Leventhal's (1935) first report and gradually led to the establishment of the term polycystic ovary syndrome. The many features of this syndrome can be broadly divided into three categories: clinical, endocrine and metabolic. The clinical features include menstrual abnormalities, hirsutism, acne, alopecia, anovulatory infertility and recurrent miscarriages. The endocrine features include elevated androgens, luteinizing hormone, oestrogen and prolactin levels. The metabolic aspects of this syndrome include insulin resistance, obesity, lipid abnormalities and an increased risk for impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes mellitus (type 2 DM). Controversy persists regarding the criteria used for PCOS diagnosis. Currently, the recommended diagnostic criteria for PCOS are hyperandrogenism and ovulatory dysfunction with the exclusion of specific disorders, such as nonclassic adrenal 21-hydroxylase deficiency, Cushing's syndrome, hyperprolactinaemia and androgen-producing tumours. This clinical definition reflects a 1990 National Institutes of Health–National Institute of Child Health and Development Consensus Conference (Zawadeski & Dunaif, 1992) in which there was poor agreement among…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Increased expression of circulating miRNA-93 in women with polycystic ovary syndrome may represent a novel, non-invasive biomarker for diagnosis
- Identification of key genes associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and ovarian cancer using an integrated bioinformatics analysis
- Identification of key pathways and genes in polycystic ovary syndrome via integrated bioinformatics analysis and prediction of small therapeutic molecules
- Regulation of Androgen Receptor Expression Alters AMPK Phosphorylation in the Endometrium: In Vivo and In Vitro Studies in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
- Effect of oral administration of low-dose follicle stimulating hormone on hyperandrogenized mice as a model of polycystic ovary syndrome
- Systems pharmacology to investigate the interaction of berberine and other drugs in treating polycystic ovary syndrome
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.