Endocrine disruptors and polycystic ovary syndrome: a focus on Bisphenol A and its potential pathophysiological aspects.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous disorder of unknown etiology that may arise from a combination of a number of underlying genetic interactions and predispositions with environmental factors. Endocrine disruptors and, in particular, Bisphenol A may represent one of the many underlying causes of the syndrome as they are experimentally linked to metabolic and reproductive derangements resembling PCOS-related disorders. Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals may act as an environmental modifier to worsen symptoms of PCOS in affected females or to contribute to the final phenotype of the syndrome in genetically predisposed individuals.