Ep. 3 | A Guide to Understanding and Treating PCOS

Fertility Health Podcast

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most ancient disorders (around 50-60,000 years old) and affects up to one in five women regardless of race, nationality or ethnicity.

For many women, diagnosis involves a long, enigmatic process including numerous physician visits. Its symptoms are not always clear, the condition has many nuances, and the healthcare system as a whole has a long way to go to be able to provide optimal care for PCOS patients.

In this episode, Ricardo Azziz, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., renowned physician, researcher, scientist, and Chief Officer of Academic Health and Hospital Affairs, State University of New York (SUNY), joins host Mark P. Trolice, M.D., to break down what PCOS is, why it can be so challenging to diagnose, and the different treatment options available to patients.

Tune in to discover:

• The three main criteria for diagnosing PCOS
• The link between PCOS and diabetes
• The role of metformin and letrozole in the management of PCOS
• Why ovarian drilling gets a bad rap and how it can be an effective treatment for many PCOS patients

About Ricardo Azziz, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A.

Ricardo Azziz is an internationally recognized physician, scientist and executive who currently serves as Chief Officer, Academic Health & Hospital Affairs, the State University of New York (SUNY), the largest university system in the nation. Dr. Azziz's biomedical research focuses on the study of reproductive endocrinology and androgen excess disorders. He has published over 500 original peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and reviews and is consistently ranked one of America's Top Doctors. He has received, among other recognitions, the 2000 President's Achievement Award of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation, and was elected member of the Association of American Physicians.
He previously served as deputy director of the Clinical & Translational Sciences Institute and assistant dean for Clinical and Translational Sciences at UCLA, and director of the Center for Androgen-Related Disorders at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. He is the founder and serves as senior executive director of the Androgen Excess & PCOS Society.
Among other advisory capacities, he served on multiple NIH committees, chaired the U.S. FDA Advisory Board on Reproductive Health Drugs and served on the oversight committee for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Azziz previously also served as president of Georgia Health Sciences University and then founding president of Georgia Regents University, one of Georgia's four comprehensive research-level universities. He also served as founding CEO of the Georgia Regents Health System, the state's only public academic health center.

About Mark P. Trolice, M.D.

Mark P. Trolice, M.D., FACOG, FACS, FACE is Director of Fertility CARE: The IVF Center in Winter Park, Florida and Associate Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology (OB/GYN) at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine in Orlando responsible for the medical education of OB/GYN residents and medical students as well as Medical Endocrinology fellows. He is past President of the Florida Society of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility (REI) and past Division Director of REI at Winnie Palmer Hospital, part of Orlando Health.

He is double Board-certified in REI and OB/GYN, maintains annual recertification, and has been awarded the American Medical Association’s “Physicians’ Recognition Award” annually. He holds the unique distinction of being a Fellow in all three American Colleges of OB/GYN, of Surgeons, and of Endocrinology. His colleagues select him as Top Doctor in America® annually, one among the top 5% of doctors in the U.S. In 2018, he was awarded the&