August 17th, 2009
The current edition of PCOS Health Review features a fascinating article on identical twins with PCOS, only one of whom was able to ovulate when they both stopped taking birth control pills.
Although the twins shared same lifestyle of positive nutrition, exercise and supplements and had identical genes, the ability to ovulate was missing for one of them.
In comparing all the elements of their lifestyles, the twins discovered that one liked to sunbathe and the other did not. After starting to take the sun in May, the non-ovulating twin began ovulating! It was the Vitamin D from the sun that was the missing link.
She was already taking 600 IU of vitamin D in a d-pinitol formula – but just not enough. Her dose of D increased by 200 IU/day, her cycles continued and eight months later she became pregnant.
Read more of this article, and previous newsletters at:
www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/news.html
June 26th, 2008
Endocrine Today
By Eric Raible
June 25, 2008
Women with obesity who desire bariatric surgery often present with reproductive complications prior to surgery, results from a prospective study suggested.
Researchers with the six-center Longitudinal Assessment for Bariatric Surgery II (LABS-2) study reported that reproductive disorders like polycystic ovary syndrome, abnormal bleeding and menstrual cycles, and infertility were prevalent in the study cohort of obese women prior to undergoing bariatric surgery.
The researchers provided a self-administered 20-item reproductive health questionnaire to 1,024 women, according to Gabriella G. Gosman, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She presented the results at the 25th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery in Washington.
“Among women presenting for bariatric surgery, there was a high prevalence of PCOS and abnormal menstrual function,” Gosman said. “Both of these have serious health consequences, including endometrial cancer.”
Gosman reported a higher prevalence of PCOS in the cohort compared with that of the general population (15.9% vs. 7%), as well as abnormal menses (32.2% vs. 18%). About 45% of the women in the cohort were reported as using estrogen-based contraceptives in the year leading up to bariatric surgery.
“We propose that clinicians determine whether future pregnancy is desired, and stratify women get counseling and care for the interaction between bariatric surgery and pregnancy, or for long-term reliable contraception,” she said. “Regardless of future pregnancy plans, all of these women would need reliable contraception from the decision to undergo surgery until the time that rapid weight loss has ceased.”
PERSPECTIVE
We are excited that the LABS data are starting to come out. I am concerned about the validation of this questionnaire. For it to be a reliable research tool, any questionnaire has to be validated. We have to be confident that it accurately measures what it is expected to measure in different populations and in different ways by different people. To draw data from it unless it has been validated and each component has been validated leaves us feeling uncertain of what we are looking at.
– Paul E. O’Brien, MD, Director, Center for Obesity & Education Monash University, South Yarra, Australia
For more information:
* Gosman G. #PL 39. Reproductive health characteristics of women undergoing bariatric surgery. Presented at: the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery’s Annual Scientific Meeting; June 15-20, 2008; Washington D.C.
http://www.endocrinetoday.com/view.aspx?rid=29129
October 24th, 2006
Many women with PCOS are often prescribed oral contraceptives to help regulate an irregular or absent menstrual cycle.
However, this merely regulates the period artificially, without changing the underlying problem causing PCOS, namely Insulin Resistance. When the contraceptives are discontinued, the PCOS symptoms will persist.
In addition, a new study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility showed that birth control pills may exacerbate Insulin Resistance.
The study examined 36 adolescent girls with PCOS. Half the group took an oral contraceptive containing synthetic progesterone and the other half took a birth control pill with an anti-androgenic (a substance that suppresses the male hormone testosterone).
Both groups showed an increase in Insulin Resistance. Furthermore, the group taking the oral contraceptive containing the anti-androgenic showed an increase in both insulin secretion and blood levels of insulin.
With Insulin Resistance being the root cause of PCOS, women must think twice before considering the use of birth control pills to control irregular or absent menses. Not only do oral contraceptives not address the cause of PCOS but they actually may worsen the problem with Insulin Resistance.
It is important to remember that PCOS is a complex syndrome that requires a multi-faceted approach. There isn’t a single pill out there that will cure PCOS. Women with PCOS need to address Insulin Resistance through lifestyle changes like improved diet and a regular exercise regime.
