This was in the March 2003 issue of epregnancy magazine (but I could not find it on their website)....
What is PCOS? How can it affect fertility? Armin brott, author of The Expectant Father and The New Father, answers: Fertility specialist Mark Perloe, M.D., answers: PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) is not really about the ovary. It is characterized by irregular or absent menstrual periods and either increased mail hormone levels or signs of androgen excess such as acne or increased hair growth. There are as many definitions as there are doctors. PCOS is sort of like pornography; It's hard to explain, but you know it when you see it. If you have the symptoms, and tests indicate no other cause, you have it. Thus, there are no tests to conclusively indicate PCOS. Tests are only useful to rule out other cnditions that may explain your symptoms. A two hour insulin glucose tolerance test, lipid panel, BUN, ALT, creatinine, free testosterone panel, 12 hydroxyprogesterone and DHEAS are often part of the diagnostic panel. Between 7 and 15 percent of women with PCOS also will be diagnosed with type II diabetes. ALmother climiphene therapy was standard treatment for this condition in the past, recent studies have resulted in a a major paradigm shift. Now, rather than using an ovulation medication to restore normal ovulatory menstrual cycles, doctors prescribe the medication metformin in combination with a low-glycemic-index (low carbohydrate) diet and exercise to effectively restore ovulation in up to 85 percent of women with this condition.
I was just coming to post that. That wasn't the only mention of PCOS, in the same issue several pages later(pg 28):
REPEATED MISCARRIAGES AND INSULIN RESISTANCE
Losing a baby is never easy. Those who have endured the agony of repeated miscarriages often are left with unanswered questions about why this keeps happening to them. Researchers at the University of Tennesee Health Science Center in Memphis may have an answer.
According to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, women with polycystic ovarian syndrome(PCOS) often experience insulin resistance and have an increased frequency of repeated pregnancy loss(RPL). The American Diebetes Association defines insulin resistance as a reduced sensitivity to insulin, which brings glucose into the body's tissues to be used for energy. The body attempts to overcome this resistance by secreting more insulin from the pancreas.
Researchers at the University of Tennessee decided to investigate the connection between insulin resistance and RPL beyond the population of patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome. They found that 20 of the 74 women with RPL(27 percent) they tested were insulin resistant, contrasted with seven of the 74 controls(9.5 percent). One hypothesis: Insulin resistance causes a diabetic-like state in the fetal environment that results in increased first trimester loss.-Jennifer Newton Reents
__________________ Ricki, 33 and Jason, 31
Parents to Hunter!
Born October 19, 2003, 8lbs 7oz
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PCOS in e-pregnancy magazine! 
