Question: Because you study the ovary, is there any diseases that can affect it?

Roberta Migale answered on 1 Jun 2020:

Hi AreebaM! Yes the ovaries can be affected by several types of diseases unfortunately. The ovaries are a pair of small organs located low in the abdomen. They are connected to the womb and store a woman’s supply of eggs. They have 2 main functions: to release an egg approximately every 28 days as part of the menstrual cycle and to release the sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone, which play an important role in women’s reproductive health.
The most common disease that can affect ovaries is called “PCOS” which stands for polycystic ovary syndrome, it affects 1 in 5 women in UK (more info on the NHS website https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos/). It is basically a condition in which the ovaries do not regularly release eggs (ovulation). Despite its name (polycystic), the ovaries of women with PCOS do not have cysts but instead their ovaries present with lots disfunctional follicles which are little sacs in which the eggs develop normally. In PCOS these sacs are filled with fluid and they fail to nurture the egge enough for it to be ready for ovulation. So ultimately ovulation does not occur or occurs at random times (rather than regularly every month).
The ovary can also develop real cysts, which are fluid-filled sacs which are very common.. They often grow and the go away without needing any treatment and without causing any symptoms. Cysts can create problems if they are very large, if they block the blood supply to the ovary or if they rupture (split). In these cases the symptoms will be pain, etc 9more info on NHS https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ovarian-cyst/).
Ovaries can also develop cancer, there are around 7,400 new ovarian cancer cases in the UK every year, that’s 20 every day (2015-2017, source:https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/ovarian-cancer#heading-Zero). The cancer can start from the cells making up the bulk of the ovarian tissue which are the follicles, or can originate (this is more rare) from the germ cells (eggs) of the ovary.
Another disease which is not originating in the ovaries but may affect them is endometriosis. This is a condition in which cells of the endometrium, the internal lining of the uterus, start to grow outside the uterus, often on top of the ovaries and/or around them. This growth can bind together ovaries and abdominal tissues around the uterus resulting often in very painful periods.
I hope this was useful! If you have more questions I’d be happy to answer more 🙂