Treatments For Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Book Review
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Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. What is it?
Treatments For Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Book Review. Estrogen and progesterone are female hormones produced by the ovaries. These hormones cause menstrual cycles occur each month, plus these hormones help the egg follicles become, before the released egg is transferred to the fallopian tube.
The ovaries also produce small amounts of a third hormone called testosterone. Testosterone is included within the broad classification of hormones called androgens, and is the dominant sex hormone in man. Between 4 and 7% of women produce too much testosterone in their ovaries. These women have a pattern of symptoms called polycystic ovary syndrome.
When a woman has a high level of androgens in your body, you can not release eggs from their follicles in the ovaries. As the fluid-filled follicles do not open and empty, they remain in the ovaries, which appear to have many cysts. This is the reason why this condition is called a "polycystic". Women with this condition may have fertility problems because the release of eggs (ovulation) stops or occurs only occasionally. When an egg is released during the menstrual cycle, the hormone levels do not change as they should normally. The uterus lining reacts producing a brittle which can cause hemorrhage (bleeding) irregular. The coating does not appear all at once during a normal menstrual period. Since abnormal hormonal balance, the lining of the uterus also have a higher risk of developing cancer.
In women with PCOS, androgens also produce aesthetic consequences. Women with high levels of androgens can have acne and hair growth pattern similar to that of men in areas such as the mustache or face.
Typically, women with polycystic ovary syndrome not only have high levels of androgens, but with high levels of insulin and resistance to the effects of insulin. High insulin levels are a marker for other medical complications that occur in this disease. Like what happens in a person with high insulin levels, women with PCOS are more likely to become obese and have a high risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol problems and heart disease.
Excess insulin can cause the ovaries to produce more androgens, which can trigger PCOS in some women. However, experts believe that insulin not always be the cause of the problem. Genetics and how some glands are programmed body (ovaries, pituitary and adrenal gland) also influence in causing disease. Are more likely to develop PCOS women with recurrent seizures. This happens because the repeated seizures affect the hypothalamus and pituitary gland in the brain, which regulate the production of sex hormones.
Symptoms
Treatments For Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Book Review. Polycystic ovary syndrome usually causes no symptoms before puberty half, when the ovaries begin to produce significant amounts of hormones. At this point, women may have some or all of the following symptoms:
infrequent menstrual periods, irregular or absent
difficulty getting pregnant
obesity (in the 40 to 50% of women with this condition)
acne
hair growth in the beard area, upper lip, sideburns, around the nipple or in the midline of the lower abdomen
darkened and thickened skin, sometimes with velvet aspect armpits
high blood pressure and high blood sugar and cholesterol
Diagnosis
If you have irregular periods, you should have a pregnancy test.
Changes in patterns of hair growth or acne development could be signs enough for a physician determines that have high levels of androgens (testosterone). Otherwise, the blood test can detect high levels of androgen. It could also be a blood test to check the level of prolactin, a hormone produced by the pituitary gland in the brain. High levels of prolactin can be caused by a tumor in the pituitary and this problem can cause symptoms that resemble those of polycystic ovary syndrome.
Always have been ruled out other causes of your symptoms, your doctor will diagnose PCOS if you have high levels of androgens, besides absent or infrequent menstrual periods. To be certain of the diagnosis, many doctors check levels of other sex hormones that are affected as a result of this disease, including lutropin and follitropin. Some doctors could examine her ovaries by ultrasound, especially if they appear to be larger than normal during the pelvic exam. It is likely that ultrasound shows multiple cysts in the ovaries, however, it is not necessary that your doctor do a ultrasound to diagnose the disease. Ultrasound may not be diagnostic. Some women have all the abnormalities typical of the disease, but have not developed their ovaries cysts. Diagnosis and treatment for these women is equal.
Since no increased risk of diabetes and heart disease with the disease, it is important to regularly check your blood sugar and blood cholesterol. The American Diabetes Association (American Diabetes Association) suggests people with this disease monitored blood sugar levels every two years.
Duration
This problem begins at puberty and lasts until the ovaries stop producing hormones due to menopause. The risk of insulin resistance, high levels of insulin, diabetes, and heart disease is usually for life.
Prevention
At present, there is no way to prevent polycystic ovary syndrome in many women. We are moving quickly in regards to understanding the problems associated with insulin resistance, plus some scientists are hopeful that eventually may prevent some cases of PCOS and that can identify and treat insulin resistance in the early stages.
Treatment of PCOS can prevent complications such as uterine cancer. Since you have a higher risk of heart disease and cholesterol problems if you have this disease, it is very important to avoid cigarette smoking, maintain a healthy exercise regimen and to follow a low-cholesterol diet.
If you have epilepsy and have any symptoms of PCOS, it is advisable to avoid the seizure drug valproic acid (Depakene, Depakote). This medication affects the metabolism of some sex hormones in the body, which could make your symptoms worse.
Treatment
We recommend weight loss, diet and exercise for all women with PCOS to prevent obesity and help prevent heart disease and diabetes. Other treatments for PCOS depend on your symptoms and if you want to get pregnant.
Treatments For Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Book Review. It is important to restore normal menstrual cycles to reduce the risk of uterine cancer. This may be accompanied by progesterone supplements in tablets for 10 to 14 days per month. Another way to restore menstrual cycles is taking contraceptive pills containing both estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen appears to signal the ovaries to stop producing female sex hormones temporarily. In women taking contraceptives, also decrease ovarian androgen production. After taking birth control for six months, the side effects of hair growth and acne usually show significant improvement.
In women who still have problems with hair growth and acne, androgen medications can help, the most commonly used anti-androgen is spironolactone (Aldactone) although there are others available. They can also be used waxing or laser aesthetic treatment (electrolysis) to remove body hair.
Currently it is possible to help the 75% of women with this condition become pregnant. The main treatment is clomiphene citrate (Clomid, Milophene, Serophene). This is a medicine that helps the ovaries to release eggs.
Your doctor may prescribe diabetes drugs that reduce insulin resistance. Several drugs for diabetes, metformin (Glucophage), rosiglitazone (Avandia) and pioglitazone (Actos) may reduce testosterone levels, restore menstrual cycles and restore fertility. Recently the problem has been raised about the possibility that rosiglitazone may increase the risk of heart attack.
Should address problems such as cholesterol and high blood pressure or diabetes if they appear together with the polycystic ovary syndrome. While surgery usually be a common treatment for treating polycystic ovaries, currently used in a few cases. Removing a section or sections of the ovary through interventions called wedge resection or ovarian drilling can reduce the amount of androgens in the body, and temporarily improve symptoms.
When To Call a Professional
If you have any of the symptoms of PCOS, you should visit a health care professional, especially if you have or had missed periods for more than six months.
Prognosis
With treatment, symptoms may improve or disappear. Women with polycystic ovary syndrome need to pay close attention throughout his life to the ways of reducing the risks of heart disease and diabetes. Tr
eatments For Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Book Review