Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Common Hormonal Disorder With 2 Main Causes

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a condition of hormonal imbalance affecting women and girls of reproductive age. It can cause menstrual cycle changes, increased facial and body hair, acne, ovarian cysts, infertility, and metabolic issues.
Treatment for PCOS varies based on factors such as age, symptom severity, overall health, and whether future pregnancy is desired.
Exercise and calorie-restrictive diets are the best first-line interventions for weight loss in overweight and obese PCOS women and adolescents. Exercise can help reduce insulin resistance, body weight, and glucose levels, but equally significantly, it also boosts self-esteem.
Another treatment option is clomiphene citrate, a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) and competitive inhibitor of estrogen receptors (ERs) with mixed agonist and antagonist activity. It aids the hypothalamus by binding to estrogen receptors for an extended period, depleting them and blocking the negative feedback effect of circulating estrogen.