Endocrine Abstracts

Diagnosis of PCOS may be sometimes difficult, e.g. due to limited sensitivity of androgen assays and discrepancies in interpretation of ovarian ultrasound imaging. As GnRH stimulation test can reveal a relative LH excess, then we have endeavoured to assess whether this test might be useful in the diagnosis of PCOS.Patients and methods: The study involved 154 subjects: PCOS group, n=120, age (mean±S.D.) 24.8±5.4 years, BMI ...

The androgen receptor (AR) polymorphism is determined by a variable number of CAG triplets in exon 1 of the AR gene, located on the X chromosome. CAG polymorphism could modulate different hyper- or hypoandrogenic conditions, but its influence on the polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in different ethnic populations is controversial. Therefore, we investigated the influence of the AR polymorphism on the hormonal factors and clinical signs in 52 women with PCOS and in 41 non-hir...

Androgen receptor (AR) containes a variable polyglutamine chain that is determined by the different number of CAG repeats in the AR gene on the X chromosome. The transactivational competence of AR is inversely related to the length of the polyglutamine chain, respectively to the CAG repeat number. Therefore, we investigated the role of the androgen receptor polymorphism in healthy hirsute and non hirsute women.CAG repeat length polymorphism was analyzed ...

Objective: To investigate the effect of two hormone therapy (HT) regimens differing only in their progestin component on serum markers of apoptosis.Design: Randomized, double-blinded study.Patients: One hundred healthy postmenopausal women.Interventions: Patients were randomized to 17β-estradiol 1 mg/drosperinone 2 mg (E2/DSP) or 17β-estradiol 1 mg/norethisterone acetate 0.5 mg (E2</...

Background/aim: The role of neutrophils and platelets in atherothrombotic disease is well established. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of hormone therapy and tibolone on the soluble markers of neutrophil and platelet activation, ADAM-8 and CD40L respectively, in healthy postmenopausal women.Subjects and methods: One hundred and six healthy postmenopausal women were randomly allocated to: estradiol plus drospirenone (E2/DSP),...

Background: Clinical manifestations, metabolic risk factors and diabetes risk may differ in ethnical subgroups of women with PCOS.Material and methods: A total of 1010 premenopausal women were referred with the diagnoses hirsutism or PCOS during 1997–2008. The patients underwent clinical evaluation, hormone analyses and transvaginal ultrasound (US). Oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) (n=500) and ACTH tests (n=434) were performed in a ...

Objective: Kisspeptin is hormone involved in the initiation and maintenance of fertility. Placenta is the major source of kisspeptin but its role during gestation is still matter of debate. Studies investigating kisspeptin levels during gestation in patients with diabetes and hypertension are lacking. Our aim was to prospectively evaluate kisspeptin levels in pregnant women with chronic diseases such as IDDM and H.Design and methods: Kisspeptin levels we...

Background: Women affected by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) frequently suffer from obesity, insulin resistance and impaired glucose tolerance. There is evidence showing an association of hypovitaminosis D with metabolic disturbances in PCOS women. We aimed to investigate the influence of vitamin D supplementation on metabolic and endocrine parameters in PCOS women.Design: Forty-eight women with PCOS were included in the study. Cholecalciferol was admi...

Context: Androgen excess may contribute to the increased body iron stores of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) by stimulating erythropoietic activity.Objective: To estimate iron stores and erythropoietic activity in premenopausal women, considering simultaneously the effects of PCOS, obesity and abnormal glucose tolerance.Design: Case–control study.Settings: Academic hospital.Patien...

Background: Our aim was to investigate levels of lipocalin-2 and its relationship with metabolic factors in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).Materials/subjects and methods: In this cross-sectional study, two groups of women were studied: group 1 consisted of women with PCOS (n=30), and group 2 consisted of control women with normal ovulatory function (n=30). The circulating levels of lipocalin were measured.<p class="abstext"...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder with a pathogenesis in which hormonal and metabolic disturbances have been considered. There is evidence of a familial aggregation of hormonal and metabolic abnormalities in siblings of PCOS women. Some of the female relatives fulfill the diagnostic criteria of PCOS. Premature balding in the age of <30 has been proposed as the male phenotype in PCOS families.The aim of the study was to determi...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. Hormonal disturbances, metabolic disorders, and more recently, chronic inflammation have been considered in pathogenesis of PCOS. One of the determinants of inflammation investigated in terms of insulin resistance (IR) is paraoxonase 1 (PON1).Aim: To evaluate PCOS patients for the existence of chronic inflammation and to assess the relationship among PON1 polymorphism...

Objective: Our aim was to evaluate C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum vaspin levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or polycystic ovaries (PCO).Design: Twenty-four women with PCOS and 23 women with PCO constituted the study groups. The control group comprised 24 healthy women.Methods: Homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), CRP and serum vaspin levels were measured. The receiver operating chara...

Objective: To determine the peculiarity of melatonin (M) at women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).Methods: Fifty-six women with PCOS from 18 to 29 years old have been included in research. Control group 22 healthy women with regular menses, same age. Levels M were determined in the blood at 2 and 8 o’clock in the morning on a fifth day menstrual cycle in January and July.Results: It is established, that the level of M in...

Objectives: Besides well known increased adrenal androgen production, an enhanced peripheral cortisol metabolism was also observed in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This could induce a compensatory rise of ACTH secretion, tending to maintain normal plasma cortisol concentration at the expense of adrenal androgen excess. On the other hand, obesity is associated with a hyperactivity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and impaired androgen balance. In t...

Objectives: It is well known that polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) can promote metabolic syndrome (MetSy) and consequently cardiovascular diseases (CVD). In this study we compared indices of MetSy and 10-year cardiovascular risk (CVR10) based on Framingham risk scoring system (FRSS) in young obese PCOS women and healthy obese controls.Methods: We studied 25 obese women with PCOS (mean age: 29.55±4.6 years, mean BMI: 31.8±4.4 kg/m<sup...

Elevated serum ferritin levels has been reported in premenopausal women presenting polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and hyperandrogenism, and thus may be involved in the development of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes y cardiovascular disease. In female-to-male transsexuals (FMTs) PCOS is frequent and this issue has been little studied.Aims: To study the serum ferritin in FMTs with PCOS and their relations with markers of insulin resistance (IR) and m...

To date, studies focusing on long-term cardiovascular risk (CVR) of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) women are not available, as well as longitudinal data regarding the endothelial structure and function.The aim of this observational study was to examine both endothelial structure and function in young women with PCOS at 5-year follow-up.Thirty PCOS women (age 22.2±2.5 years, mean±S.D.; BMI 22.4±2.1, k...

Clomiphene citrate (CC) is the first-line therapy for inducing ovulation in infertile women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but about 20% of them results un-responsive. Lifestyle modification programs are effective in restoring ovarian function and improving reproductive outcomes in PCOS patients.The aim of the present randomized controlled trial was to test the hypothesis that a very short-term intervention consisting in structured exercise train...

Introduction: Premature ovarian failure is cessation of ovarian function before the expected age, which is usually accepted to be 40. Autoimmune diseases are a frequently seen group of disorders causing premature ovarian failure. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the frequency of autoimmune thyroiditis in patients with premature ovarian failure.Material and method: Patients who admitted to our thyroid out patient clinic were included to our study. The ...

A common polymorphism of the ERβ gene (AluI) located in 3′-UTR of exon 8 has been shown to be associated with clinical features of altered estrogen action in tissues where this gene is expressed. It has recently been shown that GnRH neurons express ERβ, indicating that this receptor may participate in the feedback regulation of gonadotrophin secretion. We therefore studied the association of gonadotrophin levels and the AluI polymorp...

The aim of the study was to determine mRNA expression of genes involved in steroidogenic pathways in chicken ovarian follicles by real-time PCR method.Hy-Line Brown hens (n=20), 28 weeks of age, laying regular sequences of about 20 or more eggs per clutch were used in the experiment. Birds were decapitated ~2 h after ovulation. From the ovary, white prehierarchical follicles (1–8 mm) and the three largest yellow preovulatory follicles F3&#150...

Objective: Ulipristal acetate or UPA (PGL4001, formerly CDB-2914) is an oral SPRM with the potential to be the first in a new treatment class for uterine fibroids. As treatment with first-generation SPRMs led to modification of adrenal and thyroid function and changes in prolactin secretion and because UPA binds to the glucocorticoid receptor, we report here a detailed investigation of the endocrine effects of UPA.Methods: Endocrine function was assessed...

Objective: Intriguing studies suggest that osteocalcin (OC) and its carboxylated (Gla)/uncarboxylated form are involved in the regulation of insulin secretion and action. Additionally, advanced glycated end products (AGEs), directly regulate the secretion of these osteoblast derived molecules. In PCOS among the pathophysiological aberrations, deregulation of insulin secretion and action as well as elevated AGEs levels have been demonstrated. In this study, we evaluated the ser...

Background: Aortic dissection causes excess mortality in Turner syndrome, and this increased risk is associated with aortic dilation, congenital cardiovascular abnormalities, karyotype, and blood pressure. But risk factor identification is inadequate, and the natural course of aortopathy in Turner syndrome is poorly investigated.Design and methods: Prospective follow-up study in women with Turner syndrome (n=102, examined twice) and healthy age-ma...

Background: Hyperandrogenism and disrupted folliculogenesis are prominent features of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and are causatively linked to ovarian dysfunction. In PCOS, increased anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) serum levels have been observed and related to the severity of the phenotype. However, the regulation of AMH in PCOS remains poorly understood. Therefore, we compared AMH secretory pattern after acute exposure to a GnRH-analogue in women affected by PCOS or ...

We examined 56 normoprolactinemic women of reproductive age (18–45 y.o.) with isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (group 1) initially and on treatment with 2 mg of 17β-estradiol and 10 mg of dydrogesterone in sequenced manner (HRT), duration of HRT was from 18 to 42 (median 36) months; 45 healthy women (20–38 y.o.) were included in control group 2.Initially hypercholesterolemia was observed in 50% of cases in group 1 and 6.6% in group 2...

Hypersecretion of hCG in transgenic mice produces profound alterations in the ovary, thus triggering failures in ovulation and affecting fertility. The objective of this study was to analyze the response of immature female mice overexpressing moderated (hCGβ+; 0.1 IU/ml) and elevated (hCGαβ+; 7 IU/ml) levels of hCG to an ovulation induction protocol (PMSG 7.5 IU i.p.; after 48 h, hCG 7.5 IU i.p). Wild-type (WT) females subjected to the same protocol were used as...

The prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is generally estimated at 5–7% in women of reproductive age. But studies regarding the prevalence of PCOS have largely been confined to non-Asians. We aimed to estimate prevalence and phenotype of PCOS in Korean women. Cross sectional study was done between November 2008 and May 2009. A questionnaire based on menstrual history and clinical manifestations of hyperandrogenism was utilized to find out ‘probable cases&#1...

Introduction: Although it is well established that all the aspects of male reproduction are hormonally regulated, the endocrine control of the ejaculatory reflex is still not completely clarified. Sex steroids, thyroid and pituitary hormones (oxytocin and prolactin) have been proposed to control the ejaculatory process at various levels, however, only a few reports are currently available. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the contribution of testosterone, TSH and pr...

Polycystic ovary syndrome is the most common endocrine disorder of reproductive women. This syndrome is often associated with cardiovascular risk.Objective: Our objective was to assess the prevalence of cardiovascular factor in len PCOS women.Materials and methods: Sixty-eight lean PCOS were prospectively evaluated for glucose intolerance, dyslipidémie and high blood pressure from 2004 to 2007.Results: I...

Background: ER-α gene (ESR1) polymorphisms have been associated with a variety of disorders including human infertility. In this study, we examined two polymorphisms of the estrogen receptor α (ESR1) gene, IVS-1 −397 T/C (dbSNP: rs2234693) and IVS-1 −351 A/G (dbSNP: rs9340799) in a sample of healthy women of reproductive age to determine whether are associated with hormonal levels for a better understanding of its biological actions in human development, ...

Spontaneous pregnancy in the course of Sheehan syndrome is extremely rare because of gonadotrophic insufficiency, which is almost present.The aim of our study is to analyse cases of pregnancies occurring spontaneously in patients with Sheehan syndrome.It is a retrospective study of 46 women who had a Sheehan syndrome diagnosed in the Internal Medicine and endocrinology department of Charles Nicolle Hospital during the period betwee...

Sheehan syndrome is a global or partial pituitary defect occurring after an obstetrical haemorrhage.The aim of this study is to describe metabolic complications in 46 consecutive patients with Sheehan syndrome and to determine correlations between these complications and the clinical, hormonal and therapeutic aspects of this syndrome.All patients have had a physical examination: weight measurement, body mass index (BMI) determinati...

Two progesterone receptor (PR) isoforms, the full-length PR-B and the N-terminally truncated PR-A, have distinct reproductive functions, with PR-B being required for a proper mammary gland development. The functional distinction between PR-B and PR-A has partially been attributed to the additional activation function (AF3) domain, localized within the PR-B-unique sequence (PR-BUS). Three highly conserved sequence motifs within AF3 domain are required for the strong transactiva...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is heterogeneous disorder leading to infertility. The introduction of Rotterdam criteria creates different PCOS phenotypes, i.e. hyperandrogenic anovulatory with (A) and without (B) polycystic ovaries (PCO) morphology in ultrasonography (usg), hyperandrogenic ovulatory with PCO morphology in usg (C), non-hyperandrogenic anovulatory with PCO morphology in usg (D). In PCOS insulin resistance might be involved in the development of endocrine and m...

Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency is very common in the population, including pregnant women. There are few studies in Spain to explain their causes, so we started one in the city of Burgos, Spain (latitude 42.2° N) in April 2009 to study vitamin D status, factors that can influence and their relationship with gestational diabetes. We present preliminary data from the study on vitamin D levels.Aims: Study in pregnancy: i) vitamin levels, and ii) it...

Background/aim: This study was conducted to determine hyperprolactinemia significance in starting and maintaining sterile inflammation in breast tissue.Methods: We observed 50 patients with nipple discharge syndrome. Patients were divided into clinical group (27 patients with hyperprolactinemia and nipple discharge) and first control group (23 patients with normal serum prolactin and nipple discharge). The second control group included patients from clin...

The individual development of patients with Turner’s syndrome (TS) is determined by the illness from the moment of diagnosis. The aim of the study was to determine life quality (QL) of TS patients and their concept of health.Patients and methods: Twenty-six TS patients aged 18–25 who experienced many years of treatment. R L Schaloc, K D Keith Life Quality Questionnaire was used to determine their QL. Their views on health were analyzed on the b...

Background and aims: Ovarian reserve screening is considered to play a key role in the prediction of quantitative and qualitative aspects in assisted reproductive technologies (ART). The ovarian reserve markers currently used include the serum levels of FSH, oestadiol, inhibin B, anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) as well as ultrasound antral follicular counts (AFC). Despite controversial results, most of the existing studies suggest that, compared to other markers of the ovari...

Background: Androgen receptor (AR) activity is modulated by the length of CAG-repeat polymorphism in exon 1. Published data suggest association between CAG-repeat alleles and PCOS, but not all studies confirmed this finding.Aim: To test association of AR alleles with PCOS and clinical and biochemical signs of hyperandrogenism.Study design: Case–control association study, approved by the institutional ethical committee, of 137 ...

The polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrinopathy (6–8%) of the female population in the reproductive age. It is characterised by oligomenorrhoea, hyperandrogenism and the presence of polycystic ovary. PCOS is also associated with the disturbance of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. The basic treatment consists of the application of diet, physical activities and the use of hormonal therapy. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of three months ...

Background: PCOS is the most common endocrinopathy in women of reproductive age, characterized by hyperandrogenism and ovulatory dysfunction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of metformin therapy on hirsutism, androgen and metabolic parameters in PCOS women.Methods: Fifty PCOS women with hirsutism aged 20–40 years were included in the study. PCOS diagnosis was made after excluding other causes of hirsutism and in accordance with Rot...

The majority of pregnancy steroids originate in the fetal zone of the fetal adrenal (FZ). The data in the literature indicates that placental CRH directly stimulates the FZ. Despite the substantial alterations in the placental CRH production in late pregnancy, the predictivity of CRH for an estimation of term is poor. To sidetrack the expensive determination of unstable CRH, it may be expediential to use the FZ steroids. However, even these substances may not be optimal for pr...