Insulin sensitizers and polycystic ovary syndrome: can a diabetes medication treat infertility?

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a phenotypically heterogeneous disorder that was first described by Stein and Levanthal in 1935 as a classic triad of amenorrhea, obesity, and hirsutism. Participants at the 1990 National Institutes of Health conference on PCOS supported a definition of PCOS that included three key features: [1] oligomenorrhea, [2] hyperandrogenism (clinical examination or laboratory measurement), and [3] the absence of other endocrine disorders including nonclassical adrenal hyperplasia, androgen-secreting tumors, hyperprolactinemia, and thyroid dysfunction.