A Patient's Guide to PCOS: Understanding--and Reversing--Polycystic Ovary Syndrome »

Walter Futterweit, M.D. F.A.C.E., F.A.C.P., is co-chief of the Endocrine Clinic and Clinical Professor of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. Author of more than 100 papers and numerous textbook chapters, he lectures regularly before lay and professional groups, conducts ongoing research about PCOS, and maintains a private practice in Manhattan focused on PCOS. He is married and lives in New York City.

A comprehensive guide to polycystic ovary syndrome, from a leading authority on the condition

One in ten American women of childbearing age is affected by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) to some degree, and many suffer from serious symptoms, such as infertility, early miscarriage, chronic pelvic pain, weight gain, high blood pressure, acne, and abnormal hair growth. PCOS is by far the most common hormone imbalance in women of this age group, yet few women understand the threat it poses to their health—or how to prevent it.

In A Patient's Guide to PCOS, Dr. Walter Futterweit, a foremost authority on PCOS in America, tells women everything they need to know about this condition and how to treat it. Drawing on his twenty-five years researching and treating the condition and his ongoing long-term study of more than a thousand women with PCOS, Futterweit discusses

• what PCOS is and how it affects your body

• what to eat and how to exercise to control PCOS

• all the treatment options, including the latest drug therapies

• how to reverse PCOS-induced infertility and restore healthy skin and hair

• resources for preventing, diagnosing, and treating PCOS

This comprehensive guide contains everything women need to know about PCOS—from identifying warning signs and seeking a diagnosis to finding emotional support in recovery—to regain their health and resume their lives.

Library Journal

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a leading cause of infertility, affects eight million American women. Yet few people are familiar with the hormonal condition. Two new books have the potential to change that. In A Patient's Guide, Futterweit (endocrinology, Mount Sinai Sch. of Medicine; Obesity and Medical Student Education) draws on 25 years of PCOS treatment and research to explain clearly the condition and its effects on the body. He stresses working with a physician who has experience treating PCOS, covers the most current treatment options, and explains the importance of emotional support for patients. He claims that exercise and diet alone often restore fertility and offers simple regimens (with recipes) for both. His encouragement and reassurance, coupled with an extensive bibliography, a resource list, and a glossary, give women the tools they need to cope with PCOS. As two British women living with PCOS, Harris and Cheung are more than qualified to provide basic information about the condition, but their emphasis is on preventing associated complications. They take a holistic approach, discussing diet, exercise, stress reduction, and lifestyle changes and offer information about alternative therapies, too. Included are recipes, extensive references, a glossary, and a referral list. Protection Plan and A Patient's Guide complement each other well. Futterweit provides more detailed medical information, while Harris and Cheung offer more lifestyle-oriented advice. Both books would make excellent additions to public and consumer health collections.-Barbara Bibel, Oakland P.L. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.