Endocrine Abstracts

Background: In polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), insulin resistance (IR) might be involved in the development of endocrine and metabolic abnormalities. Visfatin, a protein secreted by adipose tissue, is suggested to play a role in pathogenesis of insulin resistance. However, the biological activity and regulation of this novel adipokine are still unknown.

Objectives: To study the visfatin level in PCOS in Egyptian women and its relationship with IR and markers of hyperandrogenism.

Subjects and methods: This study included 50 Egyptian women aged from 20 to 35 years old. They were divided into two groups: Group I: 30 women with PCOS (11 lean, as group Ia and 19 obese, as group Ib), Group II: 20 healthy, normally menstruating women (8 lean as group IIa and 12 obese as group IIb; control group). All individuals were subjected to full medical history and thorough clinical examination, measurement of fasting and 2 h postprandial plasma glucose, lipid profile, fasting insulin for calculation of HOMAIR, serum LH, serum level of free testosterone, serum uric acid, serum visfatin and pelviabdominal ultrasound.

Results: Our study revealed that visfatin was found to be significantly higher in PCOS than control (P<0.001) and in lean patients with PCOS than the obese PCOS group (P<0.001). Also, serum visfatin was positively and highly significantly correlated with BMI, FPG, serum insulin, HOMA IR, TG, cholesterol, LDL-c, uric acid, LH and testosterone and positively significantly correlated with PPPG (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Our findings might suggest that visfatin could play a role in the pathogenesis of PCOS more in lean than obese subjects.