It affects 5% of all women worldwide. It is the leading hormonal disorder among women and also the most common cause for infertility. It happens to any female regardless of nationality, race, or ethnic origins.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or PCOS is a hormonal disorder that is common to women. It is a disorder in which the ovaries are lined with numerous cysts thus the naming Polycystic Ovaries. But these cysts are not cysts at all; they are immature egg cells that weren’t released but adhered to the edge of the ovaries.

These are caused by hormonal imbalances in the woman’s body. Normally, the female hormone estrogen is more abundant than the male hormone testosterone in a woman. But clients suffering from PCOS tend to have much more testosterone in their systems. This also causes the other symptoms related to PCOS such as hair loss and abnormal body hair growth.

The ovaries of women with PCOS are not able to produce the required hormones for an egg to mature fully. Even though the follicle accumulates fluid and starts to grow, it doesn’t reach maturity. This leads to follicles remaining as cysts. Without the release of a mature egg, ovulation does not occur. The cysts also tend to produce male hormones, which prevents ovulation too. Another factor of failure to release an egg is insulin resistance. Since insulin levels are high in women with PCOS, production of testosterone is stimulated and failure to ovulate follows. Thus, progesterone is not produced and the absence of progesterone causes irregular or no menstruation This also causes the production of immature egg cells that are not released thus causing seldom ovulation or no ovulation at all. This poses as a big problem for women with PCOS wanting to have children.

PCOS fertility problems are common since there are no egg cells released; fertilization will not occur thus decreasing the chances for child-bearing.

A hormonal problem that was also known as Stein-leventhal syndrome—named after the doctors who identified and characterized the symptoms—is one of the leading causes of infertility today. It is rerported to affect 5% of the female population world wide.

Most of these women develop insulin resistance and increased male hormones. Insulin is the one responsible for bringing the sugar or glucose from the blood stream into the cell. Testosterone on the other hand is the main male sex hormone.

Normally, everyone has both testosterone, and its female counterpart, estrogen, in their blood stream. For females, the amount of estrogen is far more numerous than testosterone. But women wit PCOS tend to have more testosterone, a medical condition termed as hyperandrogenism.

The disease was first identified back in 1935, but doctors where baffled by its cause. Even today the exact cause of the illness is still not verified, but it was speculated that it had something to do with insulin and testosterone levels, thus making it an endocrine problem.

Women with the disorder have been found to have cysts on their ovaries. These cysts are in actuality immature egg cells that have not been released to the fallopian tubes. They remain in the ovary and grow in number, thus the illness is named polycystic ovary.

Because the egg cells in the ovary are not released, menstruation does no occur. Thus PCOS’s common symptom is amenorrhea or the absence of menstruation. And since the egg cell is not released, it is imposible for a sperm cell to fertilizte the egg. This lack of ovulation or termed as anovulation is also a classic symptom of PCOS.

PCOS fertility problems are common to these women and the posibility of child birth is very difficult. But the problem is not permanent and can be dealt with.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or PCOS is an endocrine disorder that affects 5 out of 100 women worldwide and occurs among all races, nationalities and ethnic groups. It is a major cause of infertility and the most common hormonal disorder affecting women of reproductive age.

The symptoms include but are not limited to:

* Oligoovulation or anovulation – meaning there is either few or lack of ovulation
* Oligomenorrhea or amenorrhea – too few or lack of menstruation
* PCOS Infertility – caused by the lack of ovulation
* Hirsutism – increased bodily hair such as in the armpits, legs, chest, and face
* Acne and oily skin
* PCOS Hair loss
* Depression
* Obesity

Among the following, one of the most disheartening for women is PCOS hair loss. It is generally caused by the abundance of the male sex hormone, testosterone, which is also a major part of PCOS and also a leading factor of most of the symptoms.

However, it is interesting to note that while testosterone is the primary cause of hair loss among women with the condition, it is not the only notable factor. Women with PCOS tend to have thyroid problems also. They usually exhibit a low thyroid function known as hypothyroidism. With the decrease in thyroid function, thyroid hormones are significantly decreased and have an effect on the body’s metabolism.

With this drop in thyroid hormone levels means a drop in the basal metabolism rate of the person; that is why most women with PCOS are obese. But another effect of this drop in thyroid functions can also lead to the thinning of the hair due to the decreased metabolism leading to the decreased production of the vital proteins in the body.

Thus hair thinning of women with PCOS could be both due to an underactive thyroid and excessive amount of testosterone in the body.

It is common for women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome to become embarrassed and complain of the symptoms. Especially since the symptoms are typically unacceptable traits for a woman established by society. Symptoms such as obesity is embarrassing as well as the thought of being infertile.

But probably the most embarrassing symptom that accompanies PCOS is PCOS hair related problems. Hair loss in the scalp as well as abnormal hair growth in the body are also a major symptom of the disorder.

These arise from imbalances in the female bodies hormone levels specifically the sex hormones. The major female sex hormone is estrogen, while for males it is the hormone testosterone. The female hormone estrogen is responsible for the ovulation and menstruation cycles, as well as the secondary sexual characteristics of the woman. For the men on the other hand, the sex hormone testosterone is responsible for the male sexual features such as deepening of the voice and growth of body hair and facial hair.

For women with PCOS, the hormone levels, which are supposed to be equal, are disturbed. Females tend to have a higher testosterone level than women that have no PCOS. This disturbed hormone balance will result for women having secondary male characteristics such as extra body hair growth such as in the face, armpits, and chest. This condition is medically called as hirsutism. Also testosterone is also found to be a major cause of hair loss in men, thus it will also manifest in women with PCOS.

Although the problem seems too grotesque for females to bear, it should be noted that there are now treatments to medically manage the symptoms of PCOS. One such remedy is by use of hormone or what is called as hormone replacement therapy. By rebalancing the hormone levels of the patient, the testosterone levels can be maintained thus the symptoms directly caused by over production of testosterone can be stopped.

Hormones are responsible for almost everything that happens to our body. Our temperature, sense of hunger, and the different changes that happen to us are governed by the different hormones found in our body.

One such hormone is the sex hormones. For males, the one responsible for muscle growth and facial and body hair is the male androgen called testosterone. For females, estrogen is responsible for the development of secondary female characteristics such as breast development and ovulation.

Both of these hormones can be found in both male and female bodies. The determining characteristics of the person can be produced, however, by the proper ratio and combination of these two hormones in ones body. For males, they have an abundance of testosterone while females have an excess of estrogen. The proper balance between these two hormones regulates the proper secondary characteristics that appear on a person.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a condition of categorized symptoms that generally affect 5% of all the women worldwide. The condition is characterized by lack of menstruation and ovulation, obesity, depression, hair loss, and abnormal hair growth. The latter being one of the most embarrassing symptoms that the patient experiences.

The cause of this abnormal hair growth is because of the increased testosterone levels in the female that has PCOS. A client with PCOS generally has increased testosterone levels which entail gives the client secondary male characteristics.

A female that has excessive hair growth is termed medically as having hirsutism—the condition in which the female has excessive hair growth throughout her body.

But since PCOS is treatable with hormone replacement therapy, in the long run once the hormones stabilize and return to normal, the secondary male characteristics will gradually disappear. The problem itself is not permanent so women with PCOS experiencing this dilemma should not fret.