Adv Clin Exp Med. 2017 May-Jun;26(3):555-558. doi: 10.17219/acem/61987.
Stein and Leventhal are regarded to have been the first investigators of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS); however, in 1721 Vallisneri, an Italian scientist, described a married, infertile woman with shiny ovaries with a white surface, and the size of pigeon eggs. It was not until the early 1990s at a National Institute of Health (NIH) sponsored conference on PCOS that formal diagnostic criteria were proposed and afterwards largely utilized. Many scientists tried to explain the pathophysiology of PCOS and many studies were made. It is now accepted that it is multifactorial, partly genetic; however, a number of candidate genes have been postulated. Insulin resistance has been noted consistently among many women with PCOS, especially in those with hyperandrogenism, but it is not included in any of the diagnostic criteria. Now there is strong evidence that cardiovascular disease risk factors and disturbances in carbohydrate metabolism are all increased in patients with PCOS compared to the healthy population. The criteria established by a group of experts during a conference in Rotterdam held in 2003 are obligatory (The Rotterdam ESHRE/ASRM - Sponsored PCOS Consensus Workshop Group). The subsequent "Rotterdam criteria" incorporated the size and morphology, as determined by an ultrasound, of the ovary into the diagnostic criteria.
斯坦因和莱文塔尔被认为是多囊卵巢综合征（PCOS）的首批研究者；然而，在1721年，意大利科学家瓦利斯内里描述了一名已婚不孕女性，其卵巢表面光滑呈白色，大小如鸽蛋。直到20世纪90年代初，在美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）主办的一次关于PCOS的会议上，才提出了正式的诊断标准，并在之后得到广泛应用。许多科学家试图解释PCOS的病理生理学，并进行了大量研究。现在人们公认其病因是多因素的，部分与遗传有关；然而，已经提出了一些候选基因。许多PCOS女性一直存在胰岛素抵抗，尤其是那些患有高雄激素血症的女性，但胰岛素抵抗并未包含在任何诊断标准中。现在有强有力的证据表明，与健康人群相比，PCOS患者的心血管疾病风险因素和碳水化合物代谢紊乱均有所增加。2003年在鹿特丹举行的一次会议上，一组专家制定的标准具有强制性（鹿特丹ESHRE/ASRM赞助的PCOS共识研讨会小组）。随后的“鹿特丹标准”将通过超声测定的卵巢大小和形态纳入了诊断标准。
