Polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome: Introduction

A disease of the ovaries in women that has various impacts on female hormones. As the name suggests, the disease is caused by frequent cysts on the ovaries.

Symptoms of Polycystic ovary syndrome

• Menstrual and fertility problems
  • Irregular periods
  • Absent periods
  • Irregular bleeding
  • Infrequent ovulation
• more symptoms...»

See full list of 66 symptoms of Polycystic ovary syndrome

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Polycystic ovary syndrome:

• Home STD Testing
  • Home HIV Tests
  • Home Chlamydia Tests
  • Home Hepatitis Tests
  • Home Herpes Tests
  • Home Trichomonas Tests
• Pregnancy -- Related Home Testing:
  • Home Pregnancy Tests
  • Home Early Pregnancy Tests
  • Home Ovulation Tests
  • Home Fertility Tests
  • Home Rhesus/RH Blood Type Tests
  • Home Fetal Tests
• Fertility-related Home Testing:
  • Home Ovulation Tests
  • Home Fertility Tests
• Male Fertility Tests
  • Home Sperm Tests
  • Sperm Count Tests
  • Sperm Motility Tests
• Sexuality & Libido: Home Testing:
  • Home Hormone Tests
  • Home Libido Tests
  • Home Menopause Testing
  • Home Andropause Tests
• Liver Health & Hepatitis: Home Testing
  • Home Hepatitis Tests
  • Home Liver Tests
  • Sexually Transmitted Disease Tests
• more tests...»

Polycystic ovary syndrome: Complications

Review possible medical complications related to Polycystic ovary syndrome:

• Overweight
• Obesity
• Ovarian cysts
• Follicular cysts (type of Ovarian cysts)
• Enlarged ovaries
• more complications...»

Medical Textbooks Online about Polycystic ovary syndrome

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Polycystic ovary syndrome

• Pelvic exam
• Vaginal ultrasound
• Abdominal ultrasound
• Testosterone blood test
• Blood tests for androgens
• more tests...»

See full list of 10 diagnostic tests for Polycystic ovary syndrome

Wrongly Diagnosed with Polycystic ovary syndrome?

• Misdiagnosis of Polycystic ovary syndrome
• Failure to diagnose Polycystic ovary syndrome
• Hidden causes of Polycystic ovary syndrome (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Undiagnosed: Polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome: Self Assessment Tools

• Fertility -- Self Assessment Tools
• more tools...»

Polycystic ovary syndrome: Medical Mistakes

• STDs -- Health Mistakes
• Women's Health Mistakes:
  • Womens Health -- Health Mistakes
  • Contraception -- Health Mistakes
  • Fertility -- Health Mistakes
• more mistakes...»

Polycystic ovary syndrome: Marketplace Products, Discounts & Offers

Products, offers and promotion categories available for Polycystic ovary syndrome:

• Mom & Baby
• Pregnancy
• Womens Health
• Sexual Health
• more product offers...»

Polycystic ovary syndrome: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed diseases in related medical categories:

• Pregnancy: diseases that can be undiagnosed:
  • Gestational Hypertension -- Undiagnosed
  • Gestational Diabetes -- Undiagnosed
  • Eclampsia -- Undiagnosed
  • PCOS -- Undiagnosed
  • more ...»
• Sexual Disorders & STDs -- serious diseases often undiagnosed:
  • Sexually Transmitted Diseases -- Undiagnosed
  • Chlamydia -- Undiagnosed
  • Gonorrhea -- Undiagnosed
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Misdiagnosis and Polycystic ovary syndrome

Unnecessary hysterectomies due to undiagnosed bleeding disorder in women: The bleeding disorder called Von Willebrand's disease is quite common in women, but...read more »

Undiagnosed causes of weight gain and obesity: Although obesity may be related to lifestyle issues, there are also a number of medical causes...read more »

Misdiagnosed weight-related causes of infertility: A woman's weight status can affect her level of fertility. Although obesity or overweight can in themselves reduce fertility, there are other...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome: Research Doctors & Specialists

Research related physicians and medical specialists:

• Infertility Specialists:
  • Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility
• Pregnancy & Fertility Health Specialists:
  • Maternal & Fetal Medicine
  • Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
• Womens Health Specialists:
  • Gynecological Oncology
• more specialists...»

Other doctor, physician and specialist research services:

• Rate Your Doctor Online
• Research Your Doctor Online
• Review Patient Surveys About Your Doctor
• Research local specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

Hospitals & Clinics: Polycystic ovary syndrome

Research quality ratings and patient safety measures for medical facilities in specialties related to Polycystic ovary syndrome:

• Urinary Health (Urology) -- Hospital Quality Ratings
• more hospital ratings...»

Hospital & Clinic quality ratings » »

Choosing the Best Hospital: More general information, not necessarily in relation to Polycystic ovary syndrome, on hospital performance and surgical care quality:

• 50 Best Hospitals Report
• Outstanding Patient Experinece Award Winning Hospitals
• Women's Health Best Hospitals
• Patient Safety
• Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence Study (2009)

Polycystic ovary syndrome: Rare Types

Rare types of diseases and disorders in related medical categories:

• Pregnancy: rare types of diseases:
  • Gestational Hypertension -- Rare Types
  • Gestational Diabetes -- Rare Types
  • Eclampsia -- Rare Types
  • PCOS -- Rare Types
  • more ...»
• more rare diseases...»

Causes of Polycystic ovary syndrome

• Insulin resistance
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
• Cushing's syndrome
• more causes...»

See full list of 8 causes of Polycystic ovary syndrome

More information about causes of Polycystic ovary syndrome:

• Medications, drugs, or substances causing Polycystic ovary syndrome (1 listings)
• Underlying causes of Polycystic ovary syndrome
• Polycystic ovary syndrome as a symptom
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Polycystic ovary syndrome

Treatments for Polycystic ovary syndrome

• Birth control pills - suppresses ovulation.
• Progestins
• Insulin-sensitizing medications
• Weight control
• Low-carbo diet
• more treatments...»

See full list of 24 treatments for Polycystic ovary syndrome

News Archives for Polycystic ovary syndrome

Medical news articles related to Polycystic ovary syndrome include:

• Plan Hopes to ID Early Halt in Reproductive Function
• Freezing Ovaries Preserves Fertility, Scientists Report
• Gleevec May Disrupt Ovarian Function
• more health news...»

Source: HealthDay News

Evidence Based Medicine Research for Polycystic ovary syndrome

Medical research articles related to Polycystic ovary syndrome include:

• In a young patient with polycystic ovarian syndrome who has migraines and is amenorroheic on the progestogen only pill, is it safe to use the POP despite amenorrhoea or is there a better alternative?
• How effective is metformin compared to the oral contraceptive pill and thiazolidinediones (glitazones) in women with polycystic ovary syndrome?
• Can metformin benefit women with polycystic ovary syndrome?
• What effect does metformin have on insulin resistance or the development of diabetes in women with polycystic ovary syndrome?
• Can the combined oral contraception be used by an 18 year old with a body mass index (BMI) of 34.7kg/m2 who smokes and has polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
• Metformin treatment before and during IVF or ICSI in women with polycystic ovary syndrome
• What effect does metformin have on hirsutism and acne in women with polycystic ovary syndrome?
• Polycystic ovary syndrome
• more research...»

Click here to find more evidence-based articles on the TRIP Database

Videos for Polycystic ovary syndrome

Patient Surveys for Polycystic ovary syndrome

• Patient Profile Survey
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• Survey about the symptoms of your Polycystic ovary syndrome
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Prognosis for Polycystic ovary syndrome

Prognosis for Polycystic ovary syndrome: good response to treatment but recurrences often occur

More about prognosis of Polycystic ovary syndrome

Reseach about Polycystic ovary syndrome

Visit our research pages for current research about Polycystic ovary syndrome treatments.

Clinical Trials for Polycystic ovary syndrome

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Polycystic ovary syndrome include:

• Metformin in Assisted Reproduction - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Metformin / Placebo treatment for 4 months
• Prospective Study of Patients With Hirsutism - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Body Composition, Glucose Metabolism, Insulin Resistance and Gene Expression in Muscle Cells in Healthy Overweight Women - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• The Genetics of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and Sleep Apnea - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - depot leuprolide plus estrogen/progestin replacement,pioglitazone
• more trials...»

See full list of 29 Clinical Trials for Polycystic ovary syndrome

Statistics for Polycystic ovary syndrome

• Medical statistics for Polycystic ovary syndrome
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Polycystic ovary syndrome
• Death and Mortality statistics for Polycystic ovary syndrome
• Society statistics for Polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome: Broader Related Topics

• Ovary conditions
• Under-diagnosed conditions
• more types...»

Types of Polycystic ovary syndrome

Stories from Users Related to Polycystic ovary syndrome

• PCOS Misdiagnosis
• Ovary removed during surgery????
• one ovary
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• is it PCOS or not?
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• Do I have my ovaries?
• Polycystic Ovary Syndrome + Asthma?
• Questioning diagnosis of Polycystic
• Specialist says not PCOS, what could it be? Is it serious???
• READ! incorrectly diagnosed with PCOS!
• PCOS: I believe I was wrongly diagnosed
• Do I have my ovaries?
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• PCOS or something else like Hoshimotos?
• PCOS Medications
• Left ovary not seen on ultrasound
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• PCOS-Misdiagnosed

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Article Excerpts about Polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a syndrome in which the ovaries are enlarged and have several fluid-filled sacs or cysts. These cysts may look like a string of pearls or a pearl necklace. A woman can develop one cyst or many cysts. Polycystic ovaries are usually 1.5 to 3 times larger than normal. Women with PCOS may experience a number of other symptoms as well. PCOS is a leading cause of infertility and is the most common reproductive syndrome in women of childbearing age. (Source: excerpt from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): NWHIC)

Definitions of Polycystic ovary syndrome:

Clinical symptom complex characterized by presence of multiple cysts on the ovaries, oligomenorrhea or amenorrhea, anovulation and regularly associated with excessive amounts of body hair (hirsuitism), excessive body weight, infertility and insulin resistance. - (Source - Diseases Database)

Polycystic ovary syndrome is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Polycystic ovary syndrome, or a subtype of Polycystic ovary syndrome, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Ophanet, a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when it affects 1 person per 2,000. They list Polycystic ovary syndrome as a "rare disease".
Source - Orphanet