Which came first...the hair or the hormones?

This abstract caught my eye because I also have a blog about polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and finasteride is sometimes used to treat the hirsutism (hair growth in women) that this syndrome often causes. It has now been observed to have antipsychotic properties and is being proposed as a treatment for psychosis.

Antipsychotics are increasingly being used to treat depression, and at least 85% of women with PCOS have some kind of anxiety, depression, or other mood disorder associated with this diagnosis. If you have PCOS, please do not jump to the assumption that I am saying you are psychotic. What I am trying to point out here is that there is a huge mind-body connection in the syndrome that is often ignored. Physicians can be so compartmentalized with their treatments that they focus on the acne, the hair, the infertility...and completely ignore the moods, the mood swings, the associated disrupted eating patterns...and then they and their patients wonder why treatment is not successful.

I am posting this abstract to challenge anyone who treats PCOS to figure out what is going on in the brain of the woman with PCOS since it is, after all, the brain that controls hormones. Rather than mess with hormones and create even more problems, why aren't we going to the source and looking THERE for potential solutions? Let's make this the day we shift our thinking.

Bortolato M, Frau R, Orrù M, Bourov Y, Marrosu F, Mereu G, Devoto P, Gessa GL. Antipsychotic-like properties of 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2008 Dec;33(13):3146-56. Epub 2008 Mar 19.

I chose the photo I did not to be funny, demeaning, or hurtful. I did it for the benefit of those who truly do not understand what many women go through because of their PCOS. Hair growth can be devastating and lead to horrible issues with self-image. Long ago it was often called "diabetes of the bearded ladies". If you can imagine what it's like to look in the mirror and feel as though you're losing your femininity, often at a time when you're trying to conceive and desiring to be attractive to your partner...it's a situation deserving of much more attention than it often gets by physicians.