Polycystic ovary syndrome in adolescent girls.

Abstract

PCOS is already a prevalent endocrinopathy in adolescent girls, and its prevalence is rising further since, in essence, it is the result of a mismatch between an energy-sparing (epi)genetic background and a (relatively) obesogenic environment. This mismatch results in an excess of fat storage in ectopic depots, notably in the liver and viscera (= hepato-visceral, or central fat). There is still no FDA-approved treatment for adolescent PCOS. The prime aim should be a preferential loss of central fat, through lifestyle measures. Failure to sustain these measures is frequent, and the standard approach is to add an estroprogestagen contraceptive, even for girls who do not need contraception. Treatment with SPIOMET, a low-dose combination of spironolactone (to antagonize androgen and mineralocorticoid effects, and to activate BAT thereby raising energy expenditure), pioglitazone (to raise circulating HMW adiponectin concentrations) and metformin, is an alternative approach that holds the potential to revert the PCOS phenotype.