DR RAMA RAJU & DR KAVITHA
- ultrasound image of pco
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous endocrine disease affecting about 5–10% of women of reproductive age One of the most important and newly discovered features of the syndrome is insulin resistance (IR), which is constantly accompanied by compensatory hyperinsulinaemia. Despite the frequent presence of obesity in PCOS patients and the wellestablished relation between obesity and IR, a specific mechanism of IR in PCOS, independent of obesity and consisting of a specific post-receptor defect, has been demonstrated. The rationale to use insulin sensitizers for ovulation induction in infertile PCOS patients is based on these findings.
The first study showing the beneficial effects of insulin sensitizers on ovarian function was published in 1994 by Velasquez and co-workers (Velasquez et al., 1994). They demonstrated that metformin at doses of 1500 mg daily is effective in reducing body weight, improving menstrual cycles and fertility in PCOS women. Following this study, there was a dramatic increase in the number of publications concerning the use of insulinsensitizers and PCOS.
