Obesity drugs show early promise against the hormonal disorder PMOS, giving a suffering family hope

Charlotte Touzalin, a 18-year-old college student from Colorado, was struggling with weight gain, abnormal periods and unwanted facial hair. Her mother, Anne Schultz, had faced similar symptoms for decades. The pair were eventually diagnosed with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), a hormonal condition affecting 1 in 8 women worldwide.

PMOS is marked by insulin resistance, high levels of insulin, and elevated testosterone levels. These conditions contribute to a range of symptoms, such as infertility, irregular periods, and unwanted hair growth.

Touzalin began participating in a study testing GLP-1 drugs, a class of obesity medications, as a potential treatment. GLP-1 drugs have shown promise in improving insulin resistance, hormone balance, and ovulation in women with PMOS. In the study, Touzalin received weekly injections of semaglutide for 10 months. Her abnormal hair growth slowed, her periods normalized, and she stopped gaining weight. For the first time, she felt like a "normal person".

Although PMOS was recently renamed to shift focus away from ovaries and cysts, diagnosis often takes years due to overlapping symptoms, varying severity, and potential dismissal by doctors. The condition tends to run in families, and many affected women are overweight. However, there is no known cause or specific treatment, making symptom management — such as taking birth control pills to regulate periods and maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise — the standard approach.

Despite the study's early results, insurance companies have put barriers in place to limit access to GLP-1 drugs for PMOS treatment.