Why renaming this common hormonal disorder is a huge deal
5/20/202614 min
You probably know someone who has a condition that, until last week, was known as PCOS, or polycystic ovary syndrome. It affects one in eight reproductive-aged women. But despite it being such a common disorder, patients are often misdiagnosed and have delayed treatment. Now, medical professionals are trying to change that. After 15 years of work, the condition has been renamed to PMOS, or polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome. The new name reflects the real driver of the condition: disruptions in hormones. But how much can changing a name really do?
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
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Regina Barber· Host0:22
[gentle music] You're listening to Short Wave from NPR. What's in a name? Seriously, because that's the question at the heart of today's episode on PCOS, polycystic ovary syndrome. For nearly the last decade and a half, Dr. Helena Teede, an endocrinologist at Monash University, has been pushing to rename PCOS, a condition that affects roughly one in eight reproductive-aged women. Because the name, it comes with some big problems. For one, the cysts in the name aren't actually cysts.
Helena Teede· Guest1:05
100 years ago when they were operating on, uh, women, they saw what they thought were cysts on the ovary that are not actually abnormal cysts.
Regina Barber· Host1:12
Oh.
Helena Teede· Guest1:12
And then later when they did ultrasound, they saw the same thing, and science had not caught up at that time and discovered what they really were.
Regina Barber· Host1:19
They're tiny, immature follicles in people's ovaries. But even if they were cysts, those aren't the primary issues for this condition and aren't even required for a diagnosis because