Thursday 30 November 2006
PCOS androgen secretion heritable
Source: Fertility and Sterility 2006; 86: 1688-93
Testing the hypothesis that supranormal levels of the androgen secretion marker serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate are inherited in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.
Adrenal androgen (AA) secretion appears to be an inherited trait in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), with levels of the androgen marker dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) correlated in women with the disease and their sisters, investigators say.
Ricardo Azziz, from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, and co-workers make this statement based on the results of their study, in which they tested the DHEAS levels of 62 women with PCOS and their 69 sisters.
They found that PCOS affected 16 of the 69 sisters, and 31 percent of the affected sisters and 34 percent of the unaffected sisters were receiving hormonal therapy at or within 3 months of the time of the study.
There was a significant correlation of serum DHEAS levels between sisters, which was particularly strong after sisters who were taking hormone therapy had been excluded.
Calculations showed serum DHEAS levels to be significantly heritable both when all sisters and only untreated sisters were included in the analysis.
"There is a significant correlation between the DHEAS levels of PCOS patients and their sisters, suggesting that AA [give abbreviation in full] secretion in PCOS is partially determined by inherited factors," the scientists comment.
"It also appears that the disease process itself and hormonal treatment may alter the effects of the genetic contribution," they add.
Posted: 30 November 2006
http://www.orgyn.com/en/news/2006/We...90513945486111
PCOS androgen secretion heritable 
