Polycystic ovary syndrome

  Xiao Ming was successfully admitted to her ideal university, making her parents feel proud and relieved. However, recently, her menstruation was not quite normal. At first, she thought it was due to the stress and pressure of her studies and that there would be no problem. Later, she found out that she was suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome when she went to the hospital after her period was always delayed and only came once every few months.  However, there are many other “fish in the net”: Yue Yue is a high school student who often suffers from acne on her face and frequently goes to dermatology clinics, using a lot of topical and internal medications, but the acne still lingers and is hard to stop. There are also many girls who go to weight loss clinics or take weight loss medication on their own because of weight gain, but with little success. There are some beautiful young women who feel that they have a moustache or thick leg hair, so they go to the beauty salon for hair removal in the first place. However, I do not know that the growth of leg hair is also an alarm signal of disease. Some women feel no special discomfort, but they have been married for several years but are late in getting pregnant. All of these may be due to polycystic ovary syndrome DD, which is like a “girl with a thousand changes”: something that patients, beauticians, and even clinicians take lightly.  Polycystic ovary syndrome is not uncommon, with an incidence of 5-10% in women of childbearing age, mostly starting in adolescence, and is the most common cause of anovulatory infertility. It is the most common cause of anovulatory infertility and its incidence has been increasing in recent years, probably due to the change in diet and the accelerated pace of life. The main symptoms are menorrhagia or amenorrhea, obesity, hirsutism and acne, infertility, and acanthosis nigricans. Patients may have one or several of these symptoms, with varying presentations depending on the individual.  On physical examination, many patients are hairy and coarse and dark, distributed on the lower legs and arms, next to the nipples, midline of the abdomen, and around the anus, with a masculine tendency in hair distribution. If the patient has a daily basal body temperature test, it may be found that the body temperature fluctuates around 36.4 degrees Celsius throughout the menstrual cycle without the regular biphasic body temperature exhibited by the normal menstrual cycle, suggesting anovulation leading to infertility.  Hyperandrogenism is the basic feature of polycystic ovary syndrome. In polycystic ovary syndrome, the following hormones may be elevated: testosterone, free testosterone, androstenedione, or luteinizing hormone/follicle stimulating hormone ratio, free estradiol, estrone, prolactin and fasting insulin. It is important to point out that polycystic ovaries are not cysts of the ovaries, nor are they just ovarian lesions. The etiology of polycystic ovary syndrome is complex, and it is difficult to elucidate all the changes by one mechanism. The cause is still debated in the hypothalamus-pituitary gland, ovaries and adrenal glands, but it is generally believed to be an endocrine-metabolic disorder that prevents follicles from developing and ovulating, resulting in follicles of different sizes and polycystic ovaries, and the typical symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome.  From a long term point of view, PCOS patients have a significantly increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarction, hyperlipidemia, endometrial cancer, as well as gestational hypertension syndrome and gestational diabetes mellitus. Therefore, it is more important to pay attention to it.  What about the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome? We expect to achieve different goals for different individuals and different conditions, ranging from weight loss to improve symptoms, to promote ovulation and pregnancy, to prevent long-term complications. Lifestyle changes can be given, as well as western medications such as birth control pills, clomiphene, dexamethasone, and ambroxol, etc. There are also methods such as surgery and in vitro fertilization embryo transfer, which need to be done under the guidance of a professional doctor.  It is well known that long-term use of hormones can have certain side effects; the trauma of surgery not only brings all kinds of concerns to patients, but also inevitably leads to long-term complications. For patients with polycystic ovary syndrome, the combination of Chinese and Western medicine may be an ideal choice, as it can be used to treat individual differences in order to achieve the purpose of prevention and treatment.  Many studies have confirmed that the kidney plays an important role in reproductive endocrinology in modern medicine, which can regulate menstruation and treat infertility through the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. There are many causes of polycystic ovary syndrome, and some of the patients with polycystic ovary syndrome have disorders of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis as the main manifestation. Therefore, a series of causes can lead to polycystic ovary syndrome, such as poor congenital endowment, exhaustion of kidney qi, deficiency of punching, or acquired disorders of living, physical exertion, delusional labor, and depletion of kidney qi by overwork. In clinical practice, it is common for patients to have decreased menstrual flow, amenorrhea, backache and tinnitus, fear of cold or irritability of the five hearts, night sweats, hot flashes and other uncomfortable feelings.  ”The spleen is the source of Qi and blood biochemistry, and the spleen is responsible for transportation and transformation. The spleen can transform food and drink into essence and fluids, and can expel metabolites from the body. Previous studies have also confirmed the involvement of the spleen’s transport function in modern medicine as part of digestion, absorption and metabolism. The current standard of living has improved, people consume too much fat and other high-energy substances, which in Chinese medicine is considered to be over-eating fat and sweet, alcoholic wine and thick taste, congestion of the spleen and stomach, brewing moisture and turbidity. At the same time, the pressure of competition has increased, and Chinese medicine says that “thinking hurts the spleen”. The physiological functions of the spleen are affected, and the diet cannot be transported properly, so that water and dampness accumulate and become phlegm, and phlegm blocks the uterus, leading to irregular menstruation and even infertility; dampness traps the spleen and stomach, which can manifest as poor appetite and abdominal distension. Weak spleen qi can also have mental fatigue, weakness in the limbs, loose stools, etc., and obesity, which is called “phlegm-damp body” in Chinese medicine.  ”This is the so-called “phlegm-damp body” in Chinese medicine. When women encounter frustration and stress in life, if they cannot ventilate and adjust their emotions in a timely and appropriate manner, it will lead to liver qi stagnation and qi disorder in Chinese medicine. Liver qi stagnation turns into fire, decocts fluid and refines fluid into phlegm; or qi stagnation and blood stasis. Such patients tend to feel breast and abdominal distension and pain, especially before menstruation; or chest tightness, like to sigh, and relief of chest tightness after sighing.  Therefore, we analyze that polycystic ovary syndrome often involves the kidney, spleen and liver in TCM; on top of that there are still phlegm-dampness, blood stasis and qi stagnation. The main treatment is to tonify the kidney, strengthen the spleen, dredge the liver, resolve phlegm and eliminate stagnation. According to the individual situation, dialectical treatment has achieved better results.  Proper dietary structure, moderate exercise, prevention and control of excessive weight gain, as well as a regular lifestyle and maintaining a relaxed mood are necessary along with medication. We would like to tell patients with polycystic ovary syndrome that you should not only see the present, but also have a “vision”: even if the symptoms that caused concern in the short term have subsided, or if you have become pregnant and had a child, you should return to your doctor regularly in the future to get a full picture of your situation in order to reduce the occurrence of long-term complications and to make your specialist a good guide for your life Let your specialist be a good friend to guide your life.