It is the most prevalent reproductive problem in young girls and women, affecting up to 10% in the 15 to 50 age group. Although reaching almost 25% if women with mild cystic ovaries and ovaries damaged by the contraceptive pill are included.
PCOS is generally considered a syndrome rather than a disease, because it manifests through a group of signs and symptoms that can occur in any combination, rather than having one known cause.
Other names for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome are Stein-Leventhal Syndrome, hyperandrogenic chronic anovulation, functional ovarian hyperandrogenism, and Polycystic Ovary Disease.
Source":
Read more: http://www.progesteronetherapy.com/faq-pcos.html#ixzz2f7jyNQy4
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
Symptoms vary and include some or all of the following...
- oligomenorrhoea (absent or infrequent periods) or amenorrhea (no menstrual period). The normal cycle length is between 21 to 35 days. But in women with PCO the cycle length can vary from every 6 weeks, to only 1 to 8 periods a year, to none at all. Other symptoms include include lengthy bleeding episodes, scant or heavy periods, or frequent spotting. Ovulation would be infrequent or not at all, leading to a drop in progesterone levels
- enlarged ovaries (usually 1.5 to 3 times larger than normal) with a few to many follicles arrested in growth, commonly called...
- cysts (fluid-filled sacs), giving the classic "string of pearls" appearance to ovaries with many cysts. PCOS is difficult to diagnose without the presence of some cysts or ovarian enlargement. Often the underlying cause is inflammation, which would not be picked by the radiographer. Cystic ovaries can lead to...
- chronic pelvic pain - although the exact cause of this pain isn't known, inflammation is the most likely cause. It is considered chronic when it has been noted for greater than six months. But follicles arrested in growth cannot ovulate, which leads to...
- anovulation (lack of ovulation), which is relatively common as the follicles mature only occasionally, this leads to...
- low progesterone levels, as it's only after ovulation that the follicle, now called the corpus luteum, produces progesterone. But low progesterone levels lead to...
- high levels of luteinising hormone (LH) as the pituitary is trying to stimulate ovulation. High LH suppresses follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) so this leads to arrested follicle growth in the next cycle. But LH also stimulates the thecal cells in the ovary to produce androgens which leads to...
- high androgens (hyperandrogenism), particularly high testosterone, androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), leading to excess facial and body hair, male pattern baldness, deepening of the voice, weight problems including obesity and a smaller hip to waist ratio, acne, oily skin, dandruff, suppression of ovarian function, leading to anovulation which leads to...
- infertility (the inability to get pregnant within six to 12 months of unprotected intercourse, depending on age) and low progesterone levels
- high blood glucose level is occasionally found, leading to...
- high insulin, this leads to...
- high androgens, anovulation and low progesterone
- A prolonged high insulin level leads to...
- insulin resistance, a condition where the body's use of insulin is inefficient, which in turn can lead to weight gain/obesity, blood glucose problems, acanthosis nigricans (a sign of insulin resistance, these are dark brown, 'velvety' patches found on the neck, armpits, groin, vulva and other areas), skin tags (acrochordons), high androgens, high triglycerides, elevated LDL and reduced HDL cholesterol levels. But this leads to a greater susceptibility to...
- heart disease, which is often associated with...
- hypertension (high blood pressure) and...
- high homocysteine, which is caused by a lack of vitamins B2, 6, 12, folic acid and zinc. But a lack of zinc can lead to...
- acne and a suppressed progesterone level. But heart disease, insulin resistance and malfunctioning ovaries are caused by...
- oxidative stress, which in turn is caused by...
- a lack of antioxidants, which includes zinc, selenium, arginine, N-acetyl cysteine, glutathione, and in particular Vitamin D. But oxidative stress is also caused by...
- high sugar intake and foods which convert to sugar, these are the most oxidizing foods we can eat. It causes glycation, which releases free radicals, damaging cells in the process and leading to...
- inflammation
Source:
Read more: http://www.progesteronetherapy.com/faq-pcos.html#ixzz2f7kYwEst
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
(PCOS) is a diagnosis that used to be called a “syndrome”. Syndromes are a compilation of symptoms with the absence of absolute diagnostic criteria. The syndrome predominantly revolved around infertility with the presence of cystic ovaries. Along with these criteria were obesity, acne, facial hair, depression, fatigue etc.
PCOS/Insulin Resistance occurs on average in 1 in 15 women and appears to be on the rise. It is the most common endocrine disorder in pre-menopausal women.
This “syndrome” needs to be renamed, as physicians know that the primary defect is NOT in the ovaries and in fact has absolute diagnostic laboratory findings. PCOS is simply insulin resistance diagnosed when women’s FSH/LH levels (blood work) have a shifted ratio. In non-PCOS women, the ratio is 2:1. In PCOS women it is less than this and often grossly shifted to a 1:2 ratio or worse.
Today we know that cysts do NOT have to be present to be accurately diagnosed with PCOS. In fact women who have had their ovaries removed are frequently diagnosed with PCOS. Understanding why some women will get cysts on their ovaries and others do not, identifies why the name is not reflective of the underlying condition anymore.
The culprit in PCOS, is how insulin interacts with the receptor site on cells – nothing more, nothing less. The reason many more symptoms than the ones listed above exist is because insulin interacts with every cell in the body. Insulin is required to carry glucose (sugar) into cells. Insulin levels will increase either immediately or years after receptors become damaged. Stress is a main cause of receptor site changes. Once receptor sites changes have occurred long enough, insulin levels will begin to increase. Not all people with insulin resistance have elevated insulin levels. It depends on when the condition is diagnosed.
Insulin increases an enzyme in the ovary (P450c17 alpha) which can cause cysts. We all have a unique metabolic response. 50% of women will make more insulin in response to the receptor site changes and 50% will not. This is why we have missed more than 50% of insulin resistant women who simply don’t have cysts on their ovaries.
One hormone change triggers another, which changes another. This makes a vicious cycle of out-of-balance hormones. In addition, one receptor change on the cell membrane triggers another, which changes another. Women with insulin resistance often have cortisol resistance, thyroid resistance, progesterone resistance, etc… Once insulin resistance reverses (usually takes six months), response to all hormones improves.
The diagnostic criterion is a laboratory finding that shows abnormal ratios of the pituitary hormones, leutinizing hormone (LH) to follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) as stated above.
Symptoms of PCOS can be one or more of the following yet can be silent for many years
- Tendency to gain weight (10 to 200 pounds)
- Mood swings (anxiety, depression)
- Fatigue
- Acne
- Excess hair growth on face
- Thinning hair
- Irregular menses
- Poor fertility
- Cystic ovaries
Not all patients have all these symptoms. Some patients don’t have any of these symptoms and they just begin to manifest around perimenopause. A telltale sign that PCOS exists in perimenopausal women is when they have an atypical response to BioIdentical Hormone Replacement Therapy by getting acne or not having relief from hormone therapy of current symptoms.
As mentioned earlier, stress is the most common cause to receptor site changes. Poor sleep poor nutrition, habitual caffeine and or alcohol use, synthetic birth control pills, chronic antibiotic use; are some main contributors to stress.
To properly treat PCOS, we have to address cellular health
- Stress triggers must be identified and addressed
- Nutritional Optimization
- Vitamin or Medication use to reverse Insulin Resistance
Treatment
Nutrition
- Gluten Free carbohydrates
- Up to 80 gm/day of carbohydrates (gluten free) in one day
- Protein – at least 90 gm per day
- Eat small amounts of food every 3 hours rather than large, infrequent meals.
- Keep something sweet (hard candy) with you in the event that you feel your blood sugar dropping.
B12 is used for both options. Sublingual (dissolved under the tongue 4 times daily or injections given at home 2-3 times weekly).
Source:
http://www.drramsey.com/polycystic-ovarian-syndrome-pcos-2/
PubMed Study:
DNA damage, DNA susceptibility to oxidation and glutathione level in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.
Source
Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Department of Biochemistry, 34300 Turkey.
Abstract
Recent studies have addressed the possibility of an association between polycystic ovaries and ovarian cancer. DNA damage is the first step of the carcinogenesis, and susceptibility to cancer, in general, is characterized by high DNA damage. Free radical-mediated DNA damage and impaired antioxidant defence have been implicated as contributory factors for the development of cancer. This study evaluates DNA damage (strand breakage, base oxidation, formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase (Fpg) sensitive sites), H2O2-induced DNA damage, a marker of DNA susceptibility to oxidation and glutathione (GSH) level, a powerful antioxidant, in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Women with PCOS showed a significant decrease in GSH level, a significant increase in DNA strand breakage and H2O2-induced DNA damage. Although Fpg-sensitive sites were higher in the PCOS group compared to the control group, the difference did not reach a statistically significant level. Significant correlations were found between free testosterone and DNA strand breakage (r = 0.46, p<0.01) and free testosterone and H2O2-induced DNA damage (r = 0.41, p<0.05). The data indicate that DNA damage and susceptibility of DNA to oxidative stress are increased in women with PCOS and may explain the association between PCOS and ovarian cancer.
Read more: http://www.progesteronetherapy.com/faq-pcos.html#ixzz2f7lPOsU6
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
No comments:
Post a Comment