Polycystic ovary syndrome (sop): causes, symptoms and treatment
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), also known as Stein-Leventhal syndrome, is a very common endocrine disorder that can have consequences on women's fertility. Their symptoms are varied and may even not reach the diagnosis until they detect problems to achieve pregnancy and it is necessary to perform an assisted reproduction treatment.
Below you have an index with all the points that we will discuss in this article.
Index
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS): causes, symptoms and treatment- 1. What is the SOP?
- 2. Diagnosis
- 3. Symptoms
- 4. Treatment
- 5. Questions from users
- 5.1. Does Polycystic Ovary Syndrome have a cure?
- 5.2. Does metformin help patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome get pregnant?
- 6. Recommended reading
What is SOP?
Polycystic ovary syndrome is the most frequent endocrine pathology in women of childbearing age: it affects approximately 4-8% of these. Frequently it is associated to:
- Anovulation (absence of ovulation) and, therefore, sterility. In fact, it is the most common cause of anovulatory infertility.
- Obesity.
- Hyperandrogenism (excess of male hormones).
- Resistance to insulin.
With polycystic ovary syndrome, more androgens are produced than usual and the menstrual cycle is not regulated correctly. In the ovary, the follicles do not release the ova because they do not mature and cysts are produced. Due to this lack of maturation and release of the ovule, women with polycystic ovary syndrome have fertility affected.
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This syndrome is a problem of metabolic origin that should not be confused with polycystic ovaries, which is only an echographic characteristic that may or may not be present in patients with PCOS and that does not have to be accompanied by sterility.
16-25% of women of reproductive age have polycystic ovaries and not all are diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome. Therefore, having polycystic ovaries does not necessarily imply suffering from the syndrome.
The causes of this syndrome are not completely determined, although it seems that there is a genetic predisposition and that there are several genes involved. The most accepted is that it is a multifactorial disease, that is, influenced by both genetic and environmental factors.
Diagnosis
Since the SOP was described for the first time, the diagnostic criteria of this syndrome have been varying while it has been known more about its pathophysiology.
Currently, the most common diagnostic for PCOS is to use the Rotterdam criteria. These determine that, in order to define an SOP, it is necessary that the patient present at least two of the following signs, having excluded other pathologies:
- Oligo / anovulation (ovulation less frequent than usual or absent).
- Clinical or biochemical signs of hyperandrogenism.
- Polycystic ovaries on ultrasound: presence of 12 or more follicles from 2 to 9 mm in radiated crown (in the form of pearl necklace) in each ovary or enlarged ovarian volume (more than 10 ml). It is enough that these characteristics occur in one of the ovaries.
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