The Role of Androgens in PCOS Diagnosis

We have come a long way in our understanding of the “Stein and Leventhal Syndrome”. First described in 1935, our understanding of the pathogenesis and future health morbidities of PCOS has grown exponentially. We now know that AMH levels may help in the certain PCOS diagnoses. At the center of this clinical condition lies insulin resistance (IR). One of the manifestations of IR is Acanthosis nigricans (AN). (But AN can also be a marker of a much more deadly condition.) It is important to remember that not all PCOS patients are the same. In this episode, we will review the 4 phenotypes of PCOS and discuss a specific variant of the condition which is called the “lean PCOS variant”.