"A subgroup of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a leading cause of infertility, may produce excess adrenal hormones, according to an early study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
PCOS is a group of symptoms related to high levels of hormones known as androgens. In many women with the condition, the ovaries contain numerous small, cyst-like sacs. Women with PCOS may have irregular, missing, or prolonged menstrual periods, excessive facial and body hair, insulin resistance, and problems with fertility. Treatment may include drugs that block androgens, and oral contraceptives, which contain the hormones estrogen and progesterone.
"Traditionally, treatment for PCOS has included modifying ovarian hormones," said Constantine Stratakis, M.D., director of intramural research at NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and senior author of the study. "Our findings indicate that a subgroup of patients could conceivably benefit from modification of adrenal hormones as well."
The study was published online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. The study's first author is Evgenia Gourgari, M.D., of Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., who was a research fellow at NICHD when the study was conducted.
In their article, the researchers noted that earlier studies had found that in some women with PCOS, androgens were produced by the adrenal glands, rather than by the ovaries. On the basis of these observations, the researchers decided to test the adrenal functioning of women with PCOS..."
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