Bromocriptine, Sex Steroid Metabolism, and Menstrual Patterns in the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Excerpt

Polycystic ovary syndrome is one of the commonest endocrinologic disorders of reproduction, and the disorder probably reflects a primary hypothalamic defect resulting in altered patterns of gonadotropin and prolactin secretion (1). Women usually present during their early reproductive years with various degrees and combinations of menstrual dysfunction and with signs of androgen excess and polycystic ovaries. The wide spectrum of clinical and biochemical abnormalities is presumably the result of differences in severity and duration of the syndrome, sex steroid metabolism, and end-organ sensitivities.

The characteristic polycystic ovary contains numerous follicular cysts in varied stages of development and atresia, surrounded by