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Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects about 10% of women in their reproductive years and causes elevated androgen levels (the primary abnormality), resulting in ovulatory dysfunction, impaired fertility, and polycystic ovarian follicles, as well as associated metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. In women, androgens are produced primarily by the ovaries, but also in adipose tissue. Current first-line PCOS drug therapy is combined oral contraceptives, but these do not target elevated androgen levels.
A team from China reports that artemisinins, known for their role in treating chloroquine-resistant malaria, degrade an enzyme (LONP1-CYP11A1) that is essential for ovarian production of androgens. First, in a rod…