Prevent Fertility Issues: Treat Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Early Stages

Taking SPIOMET normalized more hepatic and visceral fat, insulin and markers of cardiovascular health in adolescent girls with poly cystic ovarian syndrome.

Highlights

Roughly 98 percent of girls who have poly cystic ovarian syndrome take a combined oral contraceptive pill that contains an estrogen and a progesterone.
SPIOMET the //low-dose combination of an anti-androgen plus two insulin-sensitizers helps restore ovulation, reduces hepatic fat.
Compared to contraceptive pills, SPIOMET improved overall fertility and maintained reproductive health.

Reducing abdominal visceral fat and liver fat restores ovulation, normalizes the symptoms of androgen excess, and may help prevent future subfertility in adolescent girls with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

"PCOS is very prevalent in adolescent girls and women of reproductive age and is a prime cause of female subfertility," said lead author Lourdes Ibáñez, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pediatrics at the Institut de Recerca Pediàtrica Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, in Barcelona, Spain.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome - Overview
Polycystic ovarian syndrome is the most common hormonal disorder among women of reproductive age and can cause infertility.

‘SPIOMET had a 2.5-fold higher ovulation rate and a 6-fold higher prevalence of normal ovulation; and the risk of having abnormally few ovulations was 65% lower when compared with oral contraceptives.’

"While no treatment is licensed for PCOS, roughly 98 percent of girls who have it, whether or not they are sexually active, take a combined oral contraceptive pill that contains an estrogen and a progestagen," said Ibáñez.

Contraceptive pill or SPIOMET for PCOS?

In a study conducted at the University of Barcelona, Ibáñez and her colleagues enrolled 36 young women with PCOS who averaged 16 years of age, were non-obese and not sexually active. They had had their first menstruation at least two years before; and their excessive body hair and irregular menses could not be attributed to specific causes. Overall, 34 girls completed the study.

Women Unhappy With the Long Waiting Periods For Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Diagnosis
Many women wait for years before diagnosis of PCOS, the common reproductive, metabolic health problem, finds survey.

The participants were randomized to receive one of two drug combinations daily for 12 months. Some took a combined oral contraceptive pill containing 20 mcg ethinyl-estradiol plus 100 mg levonorgestrel; others took SPIOMET, (spironolactone 50 mg, pioglitazone 7.5 mg, and metformin 850 mg). The girls were also encouraged to do regular exercise and eat a Mediterranean diet.

Referring to menstrual diaries and weekly measurements of salivary progesterone, the researchers counted the number of ovulations over two timespans: between 3 and 6 months after treatment and between 9 and 12 months after treatment.

PCOS In The Mother Increases Risk Of Autism In The Offspring
Women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) have increased levels of androgens even during pregnancy, which increases the risk of autism in children.

The authors also assessed body composition; the amount of abdominal, visceral and hepatic fat; circulating androgens; cholesterol and insulin; carotid artery thickness; and other markers of cardiovascular health.

Young women with PCOS had more visceral and hepatic fat than age-matched controls, as well as higher androgens and insulin, and altered markers of cardiovascular health before the treatment.

Study Finds Women Likely to Doubt Their Choice of Partners During Ovulation
Researchers at UCLA have found that women continue to have doubts whether they have made the right decision long after they have chosen ‘stable’ mates.

During treatment, those taking SPIOMET normalized more hepatic and visceral fat, insulin and markers of cardiovascular health; and after treatment, these values remained more normal in the girls who took SPIOMET than in those on oral contraceptives.

Compared with oral contraceptives, SPIOMET was followed by a 2.5-fold higher ovulation rate and a 6-fold higher prevalence of normal ovulation; and the risk of having abnormally few ovulations was 65% lower. The girls who lost the most hepatic fat were those who ovulated more after treatment.

Reference

Lourdes Ibáñez et al., Treating polycystic ovary syndrome early may help prevent later drop in fertility, ENDO 2017: The Endocrine Society's 99th Annual Meeting & Expo.

Source-Medindia