Entre el hirsutismo y el síndrome del ovario poliquístico: análisis desde una perspectiva histórica

Well known are the “woman with a beard” (Brígida del Río, 1590), exhibited in palaces and fairs and immortalized by the monk, Fray Juan Sánchez Cotán, and the Bearded lady, painted by J. Ribera (1595-1652). Two paintings by J. Carreño de Miranda portray the woman as a “monster”, dressed and naked, in which, together with hirsutism, Cushing's syndrome, other ovarian-related endocrine disorders, and obesity, can be discerned. Figures such as Madame Taylor in the United States, who stopped shaving at the age of 18 to become a circus freak, or Clementine Delait (1865-1939), who founded the Café de la Femme à Barbe, lead up to the XIX century, when the existence of an organic alteration in hirsutism was suggested. At a conference in 1756, Dr. Cooke described the association of hirsutism and obesity. Subsequently, Drs. Bérillon, Pinard and Gallis, as well as Dr. G. Marañón, converted this disease into something else. The publication of “Diabetes of bearded women” by Brown (1928) added insulin to a disease that would first be described by Stein and Leventhal in 1935, who implicated hyperandrogenism and polycystic ovaries. In the last few decades of the century, these findings were classified into a syndrome, whose natural history, multifactorial and polygenic nature, and association with other diseases would be elucidated in greater depth. Therapeutic possibilities are currently being developed, which are far removed from hair removal, infertility and discrimination due to unknown causes.