Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a lifelong disorder characterized by hyperandrogenism and ovulatory dysfunction, with a wide spectrum of clinical symptoms and signs. Three different sets of diagnostic criteria have been established in order to define this disease in adult women, but there is controversy regarding the use of these criteria in adolescence. During puberty, the adult criteria...

A 29-year-old woman with moderately elevated blood pressure and signs of hyperandrogenism (hirsutism and acne) but without typical Cushing's syndrome symptoms has been followed for almost 6 years. Steroid and glucocorticoid receptor studies indicated a primary glucocorticoid receptor defect. Elevated androgen values were of special interest. Clinical manifestation of hyperandrogenism seemed not...

Mild clinical signs of hyperandrogenism such as hirsutism may appear during the menopausal transition as part of the normal aging process, but the development of frank virilization suggests a specific source of androgen excess. We report a case of a 68-year-old woman with signs of virilization that had started 6 months before. Clinical analyses revealed high levels of serum testosterone for a p...

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common form of chronic anovulation associated with androgen excess. Large scale studies have observed a prevalence rate of PCOS 5% to 10% among reproductive-age women.1,2 Currently, there are 3 widely accepted sets of criteria for diagnosis of PCOS.3,4 After excluding other causes of hyperandrogenism, National Institute of Health (NIH) criteria (19...

Premature adrenarche refers to the appearance of public hair before age 8 years in girls and 9 years in boys, without other signs of puberty or virilization. Growth velocity may be increased and slightly advanced bone maturation is often present and is usually well correlated with the height age. The transient acceleraration of growth and of bone maturation have no negative effects on the onset...

BackgroundFor adolescents with suspected polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and severely elevated testosterone concentrations, imaging is recommended to assess for neoplasm. Selective venous sampling (SVS) can be considered when nondiagnostic.CaseAn adolescent female treated PCOS had a peak of 344 ng/dL (11.9 nmol/L). Imaging did not localize mass. SVS implicated the right as source hyperandrogen...