Changing the name of a metabolic condition affecting more than 170 million women globally is \u00ab\u00a0more representative\u00a0\u00bb of it as a whole-body condition – as opposed to just ovaries – health experts in Jersey say.<\/p>\n
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been renamed to polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS).<\/p>\n
The International PCOS Network said it hoped the name change, instituted on 12 May, would improve understanding and help with treatment and diagnoses.<\/p>\n
Jessica Pinel, a nutritionist and the chair of PCOS Jersey, said she felt the term PCOS \u00ab\u00a0limited the condition to having an effect on women’s ovaries, whereas we know that it is a full body condition\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Those with PCOS\/PMOS had higher levels of male hormones and could suffer from irregular periods and weight gain, the NHS said.<\/p>\n
Pinel was diagnosed with it three years ago after spending more than \u00a33,000 for treatment.<\/p>\n
She said she felt the term PCOS \u00ab\u00a0limited the condition to having an effect on women’s ovaries, whereas we know that it is a full-body condition\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Pinel said in her work she supported a lot of women with PCOS\/PMOS and that there was \u00ab\u00a0such a diverse array of symptoms\u00a0\u00bb which had \u00ab\u00a0such an impact on their day-to-day lives\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
She said: \u00ab\u00a0We know that it can be fatigue, hair growth in unwanted places, acne, brain fog even, irregular periods and infertility.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0It is that full-body condition with a range of different symptoms and, hopefully, [the name change] allows more women to get support and treatment for that range of different symptoms because the condition affects us in unique ways.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Pinel said she wanted more education for women who may not know they had it and to support those who did.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0We can’t just put the onus on the women themselves to seek out that sort of education – there is so much misinformation online, on TikTok, Instagram, even Facebook.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0If that’s where you’re seeking out knowledge… we’ve got to be really, really careful,\u00a0\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
In 2024, the BBC found influencers were selling fake cures for PCOS.<\/p>\n
Pinel advised people who thought they had the condition to seek professional support.<\/p>\n
She said: \u00ab\u00a0In terms of diagnosis, you are always entitled to a second opinion.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I wasn’t diagnosed the first few times. I had those exploratory tests, so I sought out a secondary opinion because I know my body.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0If you feel like you’re not being seen or heard, then please go and seek that second opinion because you deserve it.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
The government said a women’s health strategy was a requirement of the Government Plan and was due to be published later this year.<\/p>\n
Jersey GP Dr Jessica Langtree-Marsh said PCOS\/PMOS was \u00ab\u00a0hugely under-researched and hugely misunderstood\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Dr Langtree-Marsh said early diagnosis and education \u00ab\u00a0is essential\u00a0\u00bb and ensuring the \u00ab\u00a0right diagnosis for individuals\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
She said: \u00ab\u00a0I think PCOS is widely overlooked, and we see it as just simply: ‘Come back when you want to have a baby and we’ll fix it then.’<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Actually, we need to look at this as a lifespan condition.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
She said she hoped the name change would \u00ab\u00a0lead to more broader ways of treating the condition, so not solely focusing on contraceptive pills to help with it, but looking at more metabolic medications that we can use to help combat the condition\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Dr Langtree-Marsh said PCOS was discovered 70 years ago by two male surgeons operating on women with no periods and found ovaries that \u00ab\u00a0looked a certain way\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
The surgeons, Dr Irving Stein and Dr Michael Leventhal, originally named the condition Stein-Leventhal Syndrome before it was changed to PCOS.<\/p>\n
She said: \u00ab\u00a0The name of PCOS acknowledged that the condition only really affected the ovaries, yet we know it’s an all-body condition.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0So the rebranded PMOS is trying to appreciate that it affects women more generally rather than just the ovaries, so that it’s a whole body condition.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Langtree-Marsh said although the name \u00ab\u00a0doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue\u00a0\u00bb, she was happy the definition \u00ab\u00a0moves away from focusing solely on the ovaries\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
She said: \u00ab\u00a0What it doesn’t do, and what we still don’t know, is address the core why PCOS actually happens, or PMOS actually happens.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0It’s kind of just a cloak or phrase for the symptoms.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Changing the name of a metabolic condition affecting more than 170 million women globally is \u00ab\u00a0more representative\u00a0\u00bb of it as a whole-body condition – as opposed to just ovaries – health experts in Jersey say. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been renamed to polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS). The International PCOS Network said it hoped […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10163","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10163\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}