People who have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) suffer such symptoms as irregular menstrual cycles, excessive hair growth and acne. Its root cause has to do with increased levels of androgens, such as testosterone, but it has baffled researchers and clinicians alike for years.
However, a recent study shows an antimalarial drug to be effective in treating its symptoms. In what appears to be a world first, scientists may have made headway in understanding what causes PCOS in the first place, a hormonal health condition.
Malaria drug alleviated symptoms of PCOS in Chinese study
A study in humans, mice and rats suggests that antimalarial drug artemisinin may ease some symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS for short.
Artemisinin is an ancient Chinese herbal therapy for malarial fevers. Since its “discovery” in the 1970s, it has been the “foundation for antimalarial therapy,” according to a research paper published by outlet Science Direct in 2019.
Now, however, it may have another feather to add to its cap. A small study in humans and lab animals found it also alleviates the symptoms of PCOS.
These include irregular menstrual cycles, excessive hair growth and acne. Excess levels of testosterone are though to be behind these. In extreme cases, it can cause infertility and metabolic problems, including insulin resistance. This, in turn, increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
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PCOS baffles researchers despite affecting a huge proportion of people
PCOS affects as much as 13% of reproductive-aged women, according to research published last year in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Yet, researchers don’t fully understand its root cause. Available treatments, which include birth control pills and blood-sugar-controlling drugs, only address its symptoms.
But in the present study, all the participants who took the artemisinin derivative had lower testosterone levels by the end of the study period. Most all had lower levels of anti-Müllerian hormone, too, which the ovaries overproduce in PCOS cases.
Along with these hormonal changes, the participants had less enlarged ovaries, fewer cysts, and more regular menstrual cycles.
Artemisinin study may shed light on PCOS cause and future treatments
Following the human study, researchers found that in the ovaries of rodents, artemisinin breaks down an enzyme called CYP11A1.
CYP11A1 is key to make androgens. Androgens include testosterone, and having too much of them is fundamental to the PCOS experience.
Because a higher level of testosterone is one of the main features most PCOS symptoms, a physiologist at the University of Gothenburg told Live Science, “treatment aimed at reducing androgen production is a rational target.”
Artemisinin “represents a promising new approach to lowering those androgens,” she said. The editor of the academic journal that published the research also celebrated the “potential approach” to treating “multiple facets” of the disorder.
