Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) tend to have a cluster of several coronary risk factors, including atherogenic dyslipidaemia. Metformin has been used to improve their hyperandrogenism and to induce ovulation. However, its effects on hyperlipidaemia are less clear and it is not known if metformin also ameliorates lipid intrinsic variability.Aim: The primary end point of the study was to evaluate the effects of metformin and a hyp...

ObjectiveIn polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration is elevated and inversely related to insulin sensitivity. However, no data exists on the biological variability of CRP in PCOS.MethodsBlood samples were collected after an overnight fast at four-day intervals on 10 consecutive occasions from 12 patients with PCOS and 11 weight and age matched Caucasian women (controls). Dup...

There has been controversy over the diagnostic utility of the LH/FSH ratio in polycystic ovarian syndrome, with more recent guidelines excluding it as a diagnostic test. However, LH/FSH is still often requested for that purpose and in our institution, 20% of the 12,000 annual requests for LH/FSH tests requested in a one year period had PCOS detailed on the card, at a cost of over £37,000.Objective: The aim of this study was to ascertain the biologi...

Natriuretic peptides BNP and NTpro-BNP have been suggested as being useful for the diagnosis of congestive heart failure, and have been shown to have excellent negative predictive value for excluding severe systolic left ventricular dysfunction.We have shown previously that changes in thyroid function are associated with changes in concentrations of other low molecular weight molecules through the changes on renal function. Therefore, the aim of this stu...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and compare the effect of treatment with orlistat versus metformin on the hormonal and biochemical features of patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)METHODS: 21 Caucasian women with PCOS (mean plus/minus SEM, age 27 plus/minus 0.9 years, and body mass index 36.7 plus/minus 3.3) participated in this prospective, randomised, open labelled, study. All subjects had an eight week run in period of dietary modification and then ...

Objectives: We have recently demonstrated a wide variation in insulin resistance (IR) occurs in polycystic ovarian syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Changes in insulin metabolism and increased insulin resistance (IR) after the menopause have previously been reported. It is unknown if the biological variation of IR is affected by the menopause and is evaluated here.Methods: The biological variation of IR was assessed by measuring IR at four day intervals on 10 consecutive occas...

Objective: Bioavailable testosterone (BioT) is measured directly by bioassay or estimated by calculating the free androgen index (FAI) and reflects hyperandrogenaemia more accurately than measurement of total testosterone in plasma. A comparison of the biological variation of FAI and measured BioT was undertaken to determine the relative suitability of these estimates in PCOS.Method: The biological variation of BioT and FAI was assessed in 12 PCOS patients (median age 28yr...

Introduction: Reduced sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) is seen in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and is considered a surrogate marker of hyperinsulinaemia in these patients. Little data currently exists on the biological variability of SHBG for an individual with PCOS and this information is crucial to establish its clinical utility. Method: 12 PCOS patients (median age 28 yrs, range 18-31) and 11 weight matched, control women having regular menses and wit...

AIMS: Postmenopausal oestrogen replacement therapy (ERT) has been shown to lower serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels, requiring the use of higher doses of growth hormone (GH) replacement. Soy derived phytoestrogens (PE) are in widespread usage as a natural alternative to ERT. No data exists on the effects of PE on serum IGF-1 levels. The aim of this pilot study was to determine the effects of Phytoestrogen dietary supplementation on the serum IGF-1 level in postm...

Introduction: Impaired glucose regulation (IGR) is usually defined as impaired fasting glucose (IFG, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) is between 6.1 to 6.9 mmol/L) and/or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT, 2 hour postprandial glucose (PPG) is 7.8 to 11 mmol/L). More recently, a haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) ≥ 42 but <47 mmol/mol has been suggested to indicate an increased diabetes risk. Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are strongly associated with insulin resistance a...