Polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS) is a disease that impacts a woman's hormone levels.
Women with PCOS create higher than average amounts of male hormones. This imbalance of hormones leads their body to skip menstrual periods and makes it challenging for them to get pregnant.
PCOS also causes hair growth on the body and the face and baldness. It can also direct to long-term health problems such as heart disease and diabetes.
Diabetes drugs(which battle insulin resistance, a PCOS symptom) and birth control pills can aid fix the imbalance of hormones and enhance symptoms.
What is PCOS?
PCOS is a problem with hormones that pertains to women during their childbearing years(ages 15 to 44). Between 2.2 and 26.7% of women in this age criteria have PCOS.
Many women have PCOS but aren't aware of it. According to one study, up to 70 percent of women with PCOS hadn't been diagnosed.
PCOS concerns a woman's ovaries, the reproductive organs that create estrogen and progesterone- hormones function the menstrual cycle. The ovaries also generate a small number of male hormones known as androgens.
The ovaries discharge eggs to be fertilized by a man's sperm. The discharge of an egg every month is known as ovulation.
Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH), formed in the pituitary gland, manage ovulation.
FSH stimulates the ovary to create a follicle — a sac that comprises an egg — and then LH triggers the ovary to discharge a mature egg.
PCOS is a "syndrome," or group of symptoms that concerns the ovaries and ovulation. Its three main aspects are:
cysts in the ovaries
high stages of male hormones
uneven or skipped periods
In PCOS, many minutes, fluid-filled sacs cultivate inside the ovaries. The word "polycystic" means "a lot of cysts."
These sacs are, in fact, follicles, each one comprising an immature egg. The eggs never mature enough to activate ovulation.
The lack of ovulation varies levels of estrogen, progesterone, FSH, and LH. Progesterone levels are lower than usual, while androgen levels are higher than average.
Extra male hormones interrupt the menstrual cycle, so women with PCOS get fewer periods than usual.
PCOS isn't a novel condition. Italian physician Antonio Vallisneri first portrayed its symptoms in 1721
SUMMARY
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) concerns up to almost 27 percent of women during their childbearing years. It includes cysts in the ovaries, high levels of male hormones, and irregular periods.
What causes it?
Doctors don't know precisely what causes PCOS. They consider that high male hormones put off the ovaries from producing hormones and making eggs usually.
Genes, insulin resistance, and inflammation have all been associated with surplus androgen production.
Genes
Studies show that PCOS functions in families.
It's probable that many genes — not just one — contribute to the condition.
Insulin resistance
Up to 70 percent of women with PCOS have insulin resistance, denoting that their cells can't use insulin correctly.
Insulin is a hormone the pancreas creates to help the body use sugar from energy foods.
When cells can't use insulin appropriately, the body's claim for insulin increases. The pancreas makes more insulin to balance. Additional insulin activates the ovaries to make more male hormones.
Obesity is a significant reason for insulin resistance. Both obesity and insulin resistance can boost your risk for type 2 diabetes.
Inflammation
Women with PCOS regularly have enlarged levels of inflammation in their bodies. Being overweight can also give to inflammation. Studies have linked surplus inflammation to higher androgen levels.
Common symptoms of PCOS
Some women begin getting symptoms around the time of their first period. Others only find out they have PCOS after they've gained a lot of weight or they've had a problem getting pregnant.
The most widespread PCOS symptoms are:
Irregular periods. A deficiency of ovulation puts off the uterine lining from shedding every month. Some women with PCOS get less than eight periods a year or none at all.
Heavy bleeding. The uterine lining puts up for a more extended period, so the periods you do get can be more severe than standard.
Hair growth. More than 70 percent of women with this circumstance grow hair on their face and body, including their back, belly, and chest. Overload hair growth is known as hirsutism.
Acne. Male hormones can create the skin oilier than usual and cause breakouts in regions such as the face, chest, and upper back.
Weight gain. Up to 80 percent of women with PCOS are flabby or have obesity.
Male pattern baldness. Hair on the scalp gets thinner and might drop out.
Darkening of the skin. Dark patches of skin can form in body tucks like those on the neck, in the groin, and under the breasts.
Headaches. Hormone changes can activate headaches in some women.
PCOS Treatment
PCOS treatment focuses on running your concerns, like infertility, hirsutism, acne, or obesity. Particular treatment might engross lifestyle changes or prescriptions.
Lifestyle changes
Your doctor may advise weight loss through a low-calorie diet combined with moderate exercise activities. Even a meek reduction in your weight — for instance, losing 5 percent of your body weight — might perk up your condition. Losing weight may also enhance the efficiency of medications your doctor recommends for PCOS and aid with sterility.
Medications
To run your menstrual cycle, your doctor may suggest:
- Combination of birth control pills. Pills that surround estrogen and progestin reduce androgen production and adjust estrogen. Regulating your hormones can subordinate your risk of endometrial cancer and acceptable abnormal bleeding, surplus hair growth, and acne. Instead of pills, you may use a skin patch or vaginal ring that includes a combination of estrogen and progestin.
- Progestin therapy. Taking progestin for 10 to 14 days every one to two months can control your periods and defend against endometrial cancer. Progestin therapy doesn't perk up androgen levels and won't put off pregnancy. The progestin-only minipill or progestin-containing intrauterine device is a superior choice if you also desire to avoid pregnancy
- To help you ovulate, your doctor might suggest:
- Clomiphene. This oral anti-estrogen medication is taken during the primary part of your menstrual cycle.
- Letrozole (Femara). This breast cancer treatment can work to encourage the ovaries.
- Metformin. This oral medication for type 2 diabetes enhances insulin resistance and lowers insulin levels. If you don't become pregnant using clomiphene, your doctor might suggest adding metformin. If you have prediabetes, metformin can also be sluggish the progression to type 2 diabetes and aid with weight loss.
- Gonadotropins. These hormone medications are agreed upon by injection.
- To decrease excessive hair growth, your doctor might suggest:
- Birth control pills. These pills reduce androgen production that can cause excessive hair growth.
- Spironolactone (Aldactone). This medication chunks the effects of androgen on the skin. Spironolactone can cause congenital disabilities, so efficient contraception is required while taking this medication. It isn't suggested if you're pregnant or planning to become pregnant.
- Eflornithine (Vaniqa). This cream can cause sluggish facial hair growth in women.
- Electrolysis. A tiny needle is placed into each hair follicle. The hand produces a pulse of electric current to injure and eventually obliterate the strand. You might need various treatments to cure it.
References:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pcos/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20353443
https://www.healthline.com/health/polycystic-ovary-disease#medical-treatments