Interpretive Summary: Naturally occurring androgen excess cows are present in dairy and beef herds and have similar characteristics to women with PCOS

By: Mohamed A Abedal-Majed, Shelby A Springman, Hanan D Jafar, Brooke E Bell, Scott G Kurz, Kyle E Wilson, Andrea S Cupp

Androgen steroid hormones, normally present in the male, but produced in excess in the female, can result in inflammation and dysfunction of tissues, which, in turn, can lead to ovulatory dysfunction. We have previously identified females with naturally occurring excess androgen in our research herd. In the current paper, we have also identified two other cow populations (one dairy and one beef) that have similar excess androgen production. This suggests that these excess androgen females occur naturally and may be used as models to study androgen excess situations that contribute to subfertility.

Read the full article on the Journal of Animal Science.