Publication
New onset alopecia and hirsutism in a postmenopausal women
Journal Paper/Review - May 1, 2009
Bühler-Christen Annette, Tischler Verena, Diener Pierre-André, Brändle Michael
Units
PubMed
Citation
Type
Journal
Publication Date
Issn Electronic
Pages
Brief description/objective
Recent onset of hirsutism in postmenopausal women is mostly caused by androgen secretion from adrenal or ovarian tumours. Ovarian hyperthecosis (OH) is a cause of hyperandrogenism in premenopausal women, few cases of postmenopausal presentation have been described. We report on a 73-year old women with androgenic alopecia and hirsutism of recent onset because of elevated testosterone levels. Radiologic imaging showed no tumours of the adrenal glands and ovaries. Careful re-evaluation revealed increased ovarian size in relation to age. Bilateral ovarectomy confirmed the diagnosis of ovarian hyerthecosis and led to improvement of clinical findings. It is important to review imaging findings as OH may elude imaging studies. OH should be included in the differential diagnosis of postmenopausal hyperadnrogenism particularly if androgen excess is of recent-onset.