New drug to treat polycystic ovary syndrome?

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disease that can lead to infertility, as well as metabolic and cardiovascular complications. A recent study has suggested that a treatment for malaria could be an interesting treatment option ...

PCOS is a 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 affecting 1 in 10 women. This pathology is due to a hormonal imbalance of ovarian and/or central origin, resulting in androgen overproduction, elevated testosterone blood levels, and the appearance of follicles on the ovaries. PCOS is the 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, and can also be associated with hirsutism and diabetes. Specific treatments are currently lacking.

However, a team of researchers recently published an article in 𝑆𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 showing promising results: repeated doses of the 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢-𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧 could reduce PCOS symptoms. Their study included 19 women and showed that after taking artemisinin three times a day for 3 months, 12 patients regained a 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞. In addition, the majority had 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 and 𝐟𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬.

These results are promising for women with PCOS. Future studies will investigate 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, before testing the effects of this treatment in larger clinical trials.