Non-classic adrenal hyperplasia due to the deficiency of 21-hydroxylase and its relation to polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Non-classic adrenal hyperplasia due to the deficiency of 21-hydroxylase and its relation to polycystic ovarian syndrome. Front Horm Res. 2013;40:158-70 Authors: Pignatelli D Abstract Non-classic adrenal hyperplasia (NCAH) is a disease in which a partial deficiency of the steroidogenic enzyme 21-hydroxylase produces mild to moderate hyperandrogenemia, hirsutism, polycystic ovaries, oligomenorrhea or amenorrhea, insulin resistance, male pattern baldness and subfertility. The resemblances between NCAH and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are manifest, and a relation between the two has been sought by many authors trying to identify subtle alterations in the CYP21 gene transcription end-products as the cause or a contributing cause of PCOS. On the other hand, the differences that may differentiate these two diseases have also been the focus of research by many groups, searching for clinical markers that might help to distinguish the two conditions. Insulin resistance or the polycystic ovarian morphology once thought to be hallmarks of PCOS have been proven to exist also in NCAH. Obesity, not being a diagnostic criterion of either but being very prevalent in PCOS women is also present in many NCAH women, and hence is not helpful in the distinction between the two. And if it is a fact that women with NCAH have a higher prevalence of normal ovulation and lower likelihood of having an LH/FSH ratio >2 or polycystic ovaries, in comparison t...
Source: Frontiers of Hormone Research - Category: Endocrinology Tags: Front Horm Res Source Type: research