Wednesday 18 July 2007
Fat only partly explains PCOS insulin resistance
Source: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2007; 92: 2500-505
Investigating whether excess abdominal fat underlies insulin resistance of polycystic ovary syndrome.
MedWire News: Increased abdominal fat may not be the only reason why patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are at increased risk of insulin resistance, an Italian study suggests.
Enrico Carmina (University of Palermo) and colleagues used dual X-ray absorptiometry to measure fat quantity and distribution in 110 PCOS patients and 112 healthy control individuals.
PCOS patients had similar levels of total and trunk fat but more central abdominal fat than weight-matched control participants in the normal and overweight body mass index (BMI) categories, but not in the obese category.
In the overweight group, central abdominal fat was greater than 560 g in 71 percent of PCOS patients versus 50 percent of control individuals, while in the normal-weight category these figures were 30 and 0 percent, respectively.
Nevertheless, PCOS patients with similarly increased quantities of central abdominal fat to control participants had higher insulin levels and reduced insulin sensitivity.
“Our study suggests that the increase in abdominal fat is not the only determinant of hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance in PCOS,” the researchers conclude.
Posted: 17 July 2007
http://www.orgyn.com/en/news/2007/We...92813456712963
Fat only partly explains PCOS insulin resistance 
