What is the difference between polycystic ovary and polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary disease does occur in women, and polycystic ovary syndrome is also a disease that can occur. Many people cannot distinguish between polycystic ovary and polycystic ovary syndrome. In order to treat these two diseases more accurately, we need to understand the difference between the two diseases. So what is the difference between polycystic ovary and polycystic ovary syndrome? Let’s see what the editor says.

For women of childbearing age, polycystic ovary is a common disease. It is closely related to endocrine system and is mostly caused by excessive male hormones in the body. It often manifests as obesity, abnormal menstruation, hirsutism, etc. Although this disease is common, it is one of the main causes of infertility. Therefore, female friends should pay attention to it and actively prevent and treat it.

Polycystic ovary is the abbreviation of polycystic ovary syndrome. Under normal circumstances, women will only produce a few follicles in a menstrual cycle, but in the ovaries of polycystic patients, there are many follicles of varying degrees of development at the same time, so this disease is vividly named polycystic ovary. Polycystic ovary is a type of endocrine infertility and is also related to abnormal glucose metabolism. It is a common disease in women of childbearing age and requires timely prevention.

Polycystic ovary syndrome, also known as polycystic ovary disease, has a cause that is still unclear. At present, the medical community believes that the disease is mainly related to endocrine dysfunction. Often due to factors such as mental stress, drug abuse or other diseases, the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis endocrine disorder and the imbalance of the ratio of follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone secreted by the pituitary gland. Due to the decrease of the former and the increase of the latter, the ovarian follicles cannot develop to maturity and cannot ovulate, but form cystic follicles and finally become polycystic ovaries. It is a syndrome with chronic anovulation, amenorrhea or oligomenorrhea, infertility, obesity, hirsutism and polycystic ovarian enlargement as its clinical characteristics. The diagnosis can be confirmed through B-ultrasound examination and hormone level measurement. Western medicine generally uses hormone drugs for treatment, but long-term use of hormone drugs can easily damage liver and kidney function. It is recommended that you take Chinese medicine, which will be more effective.

1. Causes of polycystic ovary

There is no authoritative conclusion in the medical community about the cause of polycystic ovary, but there are still several theories that are highly recognized:

1. Genetic factors

Some experts believe that some patients with polycystic ovary may inherit the disease in a sex-linked dominant manner. The 46th sex chromosome of women is XX. One of the X chromosomes of polycystic patients may be partially positive or have structural abnormalities.

2. Causes of hormone secretion

Disturbance in endogenous hormone levels is one of the main causes of polycystic ovary. High insulin, high androgen, high prolactin, and high leptin may all cause metabolic abnormalities, leading to the symptoms of polycystic ovary, which are relatively complicated.

3. Organ dysfunction

The internal environment is maintained by the cooperation of all organs in the endocrine working line. Any problem in any link will cause the hormone level of the whole body to be disordered. Therefore, organ dysfunction is worse than simple abnormal hormone secretion. For example, the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, adrenal cortex, etc., the lesions cannot be cured overnight.

4. Abnormal ovarian local secretion regulation mechanism

Some scholars believe that there may be certain substances in the ovaries of polycystic patients that may reduce the absorption of follicle-stimulating hormone by ovarian cells, thereby inhibiting the development of follicles. The dominant follicles cannot be successfully screened out, and most of the ovaries are immature follicles that are in the development stage.

5. Obesity

Body fat mainly affects the secretion of leptin. The higher the body fat ratio, the more leptin is secreted, which leads to endocrine disorders and a high probability of polycystic ovary syndrome.

2. Symptoms of polycystic patients

Like many reproductive system diseases, polycystic ovary does not have any very obvious signs and changes. It is not as violent as an acute disease, nor as slow as a chronic disease. Its symptoms are manifested in small details from the inside out. Patients often experience the following conditions:

1. Irregular menstruation

Because the follicles cannot develop normally and make dominant selections, they may not be discharged normally every month, which means that the menstrual cycle will be disrupted, and female friends will have more obvious signs of endocrine disorders, such as yellow complexion, hair loss, rough skin, etc., and severe cases may cause secondary amenorrhea.

2. Obesity

Obesity can be both a cause and a consequence of polycystic ovary disease. About 30% of patients will experience this symptom, while a small number of people will only see weight gain without any change in body shape. For obese people, in addition to these gynecological diseases, pregnancy is also a very painful thing. Excessive pressure on cardiopulmonary function may bring a lot of discomfort. In addition, complications during pregnancy are also likely to occur frequently.

3. Excessive secretion of androgen

Symptoms related to excessive androgen secretion may include dense hair, hair loss, excessive oil secretion on the face and head, dandruff, etc. Some women may have pubic hair distributed like men, and some may even have local changes in their vulva.

4. Enlarged ovaries

More than half of the patients can feel the shape of at least one ovary during a gynecological examination.

5. Difficulty getting pregnant

Since eggs cannot be discharged normally and menstruation cannot occur normally, most patients will experience infertility after marriage, which will be a huge blow to couples who are eager to have a baby.

6. Depression

This emotion mainly occurs in obese patients, who generally have low satisfaction with life. Coupled with the blow of infertility, they often experience depressed moods.

3. What are the hazards of polycystic ovary

1. Affect reproductive function. As one of the most important reproductive organs of women, if the ovaries are diseased, the reproductive function will definitely be greatly affected. Reproducing the next generation is a woman's sacred mission. Losing the opportunity to be a mother is a huge blow to any woman. Therefore, this may be the most serious harm of polycystic ovary.

2. Affect normal living conditions. Irregular menstruation can bring a lot of troubles to female friends, such as occasional back pain, abdominal distension, mental fatigue, or having to endure constant bleeding in the lower body, which greatly affects the daytime state.

3. Affects the beautiful appearance. Just imagine how unsightly it would be if a female friend’s delicate face was covered with marks such as acne, spots, etc. If you have polycystic ovary disease, all these things will come one after another, and it will be extremely difficult to regain your beautiful face.

4. Malignant complications. Such as tumors, polyps, etc.

5. The risk of developing other diseases will also increase. For example, the incidence rates of leukemia, breast cancer, myocardial infarction, etc. will increase significantly.

After understanding the difference between polycystic ovary and polycystic ovary syndrome, we can better recognize these two diseases. In addition to understanding these two diseases, we also need to understand the treatment process of these two diseases. When it comes to treatment, we need to choose the appropriate treatment plan. Only by doing this can we achieve better treatment results.