Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: The role of pancreatic insulin secretion in Chinese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is not clear. To evaluate insulin sensitivity (IS) and β-cell function in lean and obese women with PCOS, either separately or by using an disposition index (DI).Methods: Cross-sectional study involving 137 Chinese women with PCOS and 123 normal women were examined by anthropometry, lipid profile, sex hormone, high-sensitivity C-reactive protei...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders affecting reproductive women. Treatments with Chinese herbal mixtures (HM) and electro-acupuncture (EA) have been proven efficient in clinic. This study evaluated the peripheral and central effects of HM and EA in dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-induced PCOS rats. The female Wistar rats were divided into control (C), control with placebo (CP), DHT-induced PCOS model (PCOS), PCOS model exposed to herbal mi...

Objective: Metformin was considered as a weight lowering agent in diabetes patients, while it remained unclear in simple obesity patients. We aimed to investigate if metformin is effective and safe in the therapy of normoglycemic obesity.Methods: We systematically searched MEDLINE (1950–2011), EMBase (1950–2011), and CCTR (4th Issue 2011), and collected and screened all randomized controlled trials compared metformin and placebo in obese partic...

Skeletal muscle is the principal tissue responsible for insulin-stimulated glucose disposal and is thus the major site of peripheral insulin resistance. Urocortin 2 (Ucn2), a corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) family member and the type 2 CRF receptor (CRFR2) are highly expressed in skeletal muscle. To determine the physiological role of Ucn2, we generated mice deficient in this peptide. Using glucose and insulin tolerance tests and hyperinsulinemic euglycemic glucose clamp ...