Dr. George Sarka, a staff physician at CSUN's Klotz Student Health Center, and assistant clinical professor of medicine at UCLA will talk about "Why Women Should Know About Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)" in Nobbs Auditorium, located in the university's Sequoia Hall on Wednesday, March 15, from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

"The goal behind this event is for women, and couples, of all ages to be aware of something that is extremely common," Sarka said. "Approximately five to ten percent of women have PCOS, which is actually an extremely large portion of the population."

PCOS affects women in the reproductive ages between 15 and 44. Typical symptoms include irregular menstrual cycles, acne, abnormal hair distribution on the body and face, and obesity, Sarka said.

"Often times, this disorder is overlooked, misdiagnosed, or dismissed as a hormone problem," Sarka said. "However, even though this is a high risk of infertility, there are treatment options."

Early recognition and treatment can improve symptoms. Often times PCOS is often misdiagnosed as a "hormone problem," said Sarka.

A simple thing as having better nutritional habits can help in treatment as "most women that have the syndrome are overweight." he said.

The forum is being sponsored by CSUN's Marilyn Magaram Center for Food Science, Nutrition, and Dietetics. The Center is an auxiliary organization for CSUN's Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. The center supports research, community service and education of nutrition and food science.

For more information about the forum, please contact the center at (818) 677-3102.