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A malaria drug could be used to treat PCOS, a common hormone disorder

Artemisinin reduced ovarian cysts and restored normal menstruation in people with PCOS

An illustration of a uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries shows an inflamed, cyst-filled ovary on the right side due to PCOS, while the ovary on the left appears normal.

In polycystic ovarian syndrome, cysts form from follicles holding unreleased eggs (right ovary in this illustration compared with a healthy ovary, left). PCOS affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, but effective treatments remain elusive.

Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library/Getty Images

By Darren Incorvaia

Updated

A common antimalarial drug could also be used to treat polycystic ovarian syndrome, an endocrine disorder that affects hundreds of millions of people of reproductive age worldwide.