title: Response of plasma beta-endorphin and insulin to oral glucose tolerance test in non-obese women with polycystic ovaries.
abstract: Increased responses of plasma insulin and endorphins to the oral glucose tolerance test (oGTT) have earlier been found in obese women. We studied responses of immunoreactive beta-endorphin (ir beta-E) and insulin in plasma to the oGTT in 8 non-obese women with polycystic ovaries (PCO) and in 10 healthy women. An additional control group consisted of 5 healthy women who were fasting during the study period. In the PCO group the insulin and glucose responses to the oGTT were increased, and an increase of ir beta-E from 5.9 +/- 1.5 to 8.6 +/- 2.8 pmol/l was found during the 1st half-hour period of the oGTT. In contrast, no significant change was found during the oGTT in healthy women (3.2 +/- 0.5 and 2.7 +/- 0.65 pmol/l, respectively), and in the fasting control women the mean ir beta-E level (+/- SE) decreased, from 4.5 +/- 1.2 to 3.6 +/- 1.1 pmol/l. These findings revealed increased responses of both plasma ir beta-E and insulin to the oGTT in non-obese women with PCO but their possible causal relationship remained unsolved.
authors.affiliation: Department I of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Laatikainen
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Tiitinen
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Salminen-Lappalainen
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pekonen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood*; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000097:blood*; D001615:beta-Endorphin / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D001615:beta-Endorphin