scholarly journals Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Important Underrecognised Cardiometabolic Risk Factor in Reproductive-Age Women

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinka Pavicic Baldani ◽  
Lana Skrgatic ◽  
Roya Ougouag
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ◽  
Polycystic Ovary ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Metabolic Disturbances ◽  
Ovary Syndrome ◽  
Intrinsic Factors ◽  
Low Grade Inflammation

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder amongst women of reproductive age. Although PCOS is diagnosed exclusively based on reproductive criteria, it is also a metabolic disorder. Insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, and dyslipidemia are more common in women with PCOS than in age-comparable women without PCOS. Many of the metabolic abnormalities that manifest in PCOS are worsened by the concurrent incidence of obesity. However, some of these metabolic perturbations occur even in lean women with PCOS and therefore are rightfully recognized as intrinsic to PCOS. The intrinsic factors that produce these metabolic disturbances are reviewed in this paper. The consequences of obesity and the other metabolic aberrations are also discussed. The metabolic perturbations in PCOS patients lead to chronic low-grade inflammation and to cardiovascular impairments that heighten the risk of having cardiovascular disease. Even though many studies have shown an elevation in surrogate biomarkers of cardiovascular disease in PCOS women, it is still not clear to what extent and magnitude the elevation precipitates more frequent and earlier events.

scholarly journals Mediators of Inflammation in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Relation to Adiposity

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thozhukat Sathyapalan ◽  
Stephen L. Atkin
Keyword(s):  
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ◽  
Polycystic Ovary ◽  
Fat Distribution ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Women Of Reproductive Age ◽  
Ovary Syndrome ◽  
Mediators Of Inflammation ◽  
Low Grade Inflammation ◽  
Reproductive Age Group

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age group and is associated with a higher cardiovascular risk. Obesity, mainly visceral adiposity, is prevalent in patients with PCOS. Obesity is associated with low-grade inflammation and raised inflammatory cytokines, both of which are also described in patients with PCOS. In this paper, the potential relationships between fat distribution, adipocyte dysfunction and, altered inflammatory markers in patients with PCOS have been discussed.

An Insight on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and Use of Herbal Medicines as Alternative Treatment

2021 ◽  
pp. 125-163
Author(s):  
Sowmya Kiran Rao
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ◽  
Polycystic Ovary ◽  
Alternative Therapy ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Ovary Syndrome ◽  
Lipid Disorders ◽  
Obesity Hypertension

One of the most common endocrine disorder in females during reproductive age which leads to infertility, metabolic derangements, and also psychological impairments is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This syndrome has been known to increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, lipid disorders, and also autoimmune thyroiditis. Impending complication list includes malignancies like breast and endometrial cancer. The actual cause of this syndrome is unknown, and perhaps, it could be due to a combination of various unmodifiable genetic factors and modifiable environmental factors. Several research studies have been carried out on management of PCOS, and many medicinal plants have been used as an alternative therapy for oligo/amenorrhoea, hyperandrogenism, and PCOS in women. The chapter gives an insight on PCOS, its management, and elucidates the effects of medicinal plants on PCOS.

scholarly journals Polycystic ovary syndrome: reviewing diagnosis and management of metabolic disturbances

2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Poli Mara Spritzer
Keyword(s):  
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ◽  
Diagnostic Criteria ◽  
Polycystic Ovary ◽  
Pharmacological Therapy ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Metabolic Dysfunction ◽  
Metabolic Disturbances ◽  
Ovary Syndrome ◽  
Individual Woman

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common condition in women at reproductive age associated with reproductive and metabolic dysfunction. Proposed diagnosed criteria for PCOS include two out of three features: androgen excess, menstrual irregularity, and polycystic ovary appearance on ultrasound (PCO), after other causes of hyperandrogenism and dysovulation are excluded. Based on these diagnostic criteria, the most common phenotypes are the “classic PCOS” – hyperandrogenism and oligomenorrhea, with or without PCO; the “ovulatory phenotype” – hyperandrogenism and PCO in ovulatory women; and the “non-hyperandrogenic phenotype”, in which there is oligomenorrhea and PCO, without overt hyperandrogenism. The presence of obesity may exacerbate the metabolic and reproductive disorders associated with the syndrome. In addition, PCOS women present higher risk for type 2 diabetes and higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors that seems to be associated with the classic phenotype. The main interventions to minimize cardiovascular and metabolic risks in PCOS are lifestyle changes, pharmacological therapy, and bariatric surgery. Treatment with metformin has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, lowering blood glucose and androgen levels. These effects are more potent when combined with lifestyle interventions. In conclusion, besides reproductive abnormalities, PCOS has been associated to metabolic comorbidities, most of them linked to obesity. Confounders, such as the lack of standard diagnostic criteria, heterogeneity of the clinical presentation, and presence of obesity, make management of PCOS difficult. Therefore, the approach to metabolic abnormalities should be tailored to the risks and treatment goals of each individual woman.

The Emerging Role of Chronic Low-Grade Inflammation in the Pathophysiology of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (04) ◽  
pp. 257-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soulmaz Shorakae ◽  
Helena Teede ◽  
Barbora de Courten ◽  
Gavin Lambert ◽  
Jacqueline Boyle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ◽  
Polycystic Ovary ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Ovary Syndrome ◽  
Low Grade Inflammation

scholarly journals Adipose tissue dysfunction, adipokines, and low-grade chronic inflammation in polycystic ovary syndrome

Reproduction ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 149 (5) ◽  
pp. R219-R227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Poli Mara Spritzer ◽  
Sheila B Lecke ◽  
Fabíola Satler ◽  
Debora M Morsch
Keyword(s):  
Adipose Tissue ◽  
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ◽  
Polycystic Ovary ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Androgen Excess ◽  
Ovary Syndrome ◽  
Increased Risk

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a complex condition that affects women of reproductive age, is characterized by ovulatory dysfunction and androgen excess. Women with PCOS present higher prevalence of obesity, central adiposity, and dyslipidemia, and face increased risk of type 2 diabetes. PCOS is closely linked to functional derangements in adipose tissue. Adipocytes seem to be prone to hypertrophy when exposed to androgen excess, as experienced by women with PCOS, and both adipose tissue hypertrophy and hyperandrogenism are related to insulin resistance. Hypertrophic adipocytes are more susceptible to inflammation, apoptosis, fibrosis, and release of free fatty acids. Disturbed secretion of adipokines may also impact the pathophysiology of PCOS through their influence on metabolism and on sex steroid secretion. Chronic low-grade inflammation in PCOS is also related to hyperandrogenism and to the hypertrophy of adipocytes, causing compression phenomena in the stromal vessels, leading to adipose tissue hypoperfusion and altered secretion of cytokines. Lifestyle changes are the first-line intervention for reducing metabolic risks in PCOS and the addition of an insulin-sensitizing drug might be required. Nevertheless, there is not sufficient evidence in favor of any specific pharmacologic therapies to directly oppose inflammation. Further studies are warranted to identify an adipokine that could serve as an indirect marker of adipocyte production in PCOS, representing a reliable sign of metabolic alteration in this syndrome.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document