What causes polycystic ovarian disease and what can be done to treat the cause?

PCOS has a genetic component; we don’t know all the genes yet – and is influenced by environmental factors and lifestyle including obesity and activity levels. Insulin resistance / ‘pre-diabetes’ may be the first thing that ‘goes wrong’ in PCOS. The closest we have to treating the cause is losing weight, with a moderately low-carbohydrate diet (Weight Watchers and South Beach are good) plus regular exercise (cardio and weights) and using insulin-sensitizing drugs like metformin. Surgery is no longer a recommended option.