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Endocrine Abstracts (2015) 37 GP06.07 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.37.GP.06.07

ECE2015 Guided Posters Reproduction: Female and PCOS (8 abstracts)

The effect of metformin and liraglutide on markers of subclinical atherosclerosis in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Mojca Jensterle 1 , Mateja Kaja Jezovnik 2 , Ana Spirkoska 2 , Pavel Poredos 2 & Andrej Janez 1


1Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia; 2Department of Vascular Disease, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.


Subclinical atherosclerosis is frequently present in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Metformin and liraglutide both improve metabolic control in PCOS, however they might exert different anti-atherosclerotic effects. We investigated the impact of these medications on the subclinical atherosclerotic changes of the arterial wall in PCOS patients.

Results: 25 patients on metformin and 40 patients on liraglutide completed the study. Metformin improved FMD from 7.33±3.11 to 9.12±2.75% (P=0.04). Liraglutide decreased IMT from 0.53±0.06 to 0.50±0.05 mm (P=0.04), arterial stiffness as assessed by AI from 31.4±7.8 to 39.6±13.1 (P=0.03) and also caused a border-line, non-significant improvement of PWA (P=0.07). Furthermore, there was a significant inverse relationship between FMD and HOMA index before and after treatment in both arms (r=0.61, P<0.05).

Conclusions: Short-term intervention with metformin and liraglutide have beneficial effect on markers of subclinical atherosclerosis in obese women with PCOS. Interestingly, the effects of metformin therapy resulted only in functional improvement, whereas liraglutide also ameliorated morphological signs of atherogenesis of the arterial wall.

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