Endocrine Abstracts

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine and metabolic disorder present in 5–15% of women in the reproductive age group. There have been a number of international consensus meetings that have focussed on diagnosis and management, with the third ESHRE/ASRM sponsored PCOS consensus workshop in 2010 looking at the various health aspects of PCOS, apart from the well known effects on reproduction. These include problems during adolescence, hirsutism and acne, men...

The polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the commonest hormonal disorder to affect women. The cardinal features are menstrual cycle disturbance, hyperandrogenism and polycystic ovaries. Both slim and overweight women with PCOS tend to be more insulin resistant than weight-matched women with normal ovaries. The degree of menstrual irregularity and anovulatory infertility appears to correlate with the degree of hyperinsulinaemia, which in turn correlates with obesity. Lifestyle i...

Case: A 22-year-old lady was referred with marked hirsutism for 12 months and secondary amenorrhoea for 4 years. She has a complex medical background including persistent hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia of infancy (PHII) necessitating subtotal pancreatectomy with subsequent diabetes. Perhaps a result of PHII, she also has learning difficulties and epilepsy. Other problems include myopathy and mild chronic thrombocytopaenia.Medications: insulins glargine ...

PCOS has major long-term health implications that are closely linked to the Metabolic Syndrome. The prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome is high among migrant and indigenous South Asian populations. We have previously demonstrated that migrant South Asians with PCOS have a greater degree of insulin resistance than white Europeans with PCOS. As there is a paucity of data on PCOS among indigenous South Asian populations, consecutive consenting anovular PCOS subjects (80) and age...

Background: PCO is more prevalent among SA than C and IR is central to its pathogenesis; whilst Type 2 diabetes (DM) is commoner in SA. We compared the phenotype and IR in South Asian and Caucasians with PCOS.Methods: Comparison of consecutive anovular PCOS; 47 SA and 36 Caucasians and their age and weight matched controls (11 SA and 22 Cs).Results: SA presented earlier (age 26 plus/minus 4 v 30.1 plus/minus 5, p = 0.005). BMI (24....

Introduction: Steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1) is encoded by the NR5A1 gene on chromosome nine and is a nuclear receptor involved in adrenal and gonadal development and differentiation. There is wide phenotypic variation in individuals with NR5A1 mutations, but little is known about the natural course of patients during puberty. This study reports the case of a phenotypical female who showed profound virilisation at puberty due to a mutation in the NR5A1 gene.<p class="abstex...