Endocrine and metabolic effects of rosiglitazone in overweight women with PCOS: a randomized placebo-controlled study.
BACKGROUND
The objective of the study was to assess the therapeutic effects of rosiglitazone in overweight women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).


METHODS
A double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted on 30 (BMI > 25 kg/m2, mean age 29.1 +/- 1.2 years) overweight women with PCOS treated with rosiglitazone or placebo for 4 months. Waist-to-hip ratios (WHRs), serum concentrations of sex hormones and binding proteins, blood glucose, serum insulin and serum C-peptide during a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), first-phase insulin secretion as determined by an intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT), M values (expressing insulin sensitivity using a euglycaemic clamp) and calorimetric data were assessed at 0 and 4 months of treatment.


RESULTS
Rosiglitazone improved menstrual cyclicity, increased serum sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels and decreased serum levels of androstenedione, 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S). Glucose tolerance [expressed as AUC(glucose) during the OGTT] improved (P = 0.002) and peripheral insulin response (expressed as AUC(insulin)) decreased (P = 0.004) in the rosiglitazone group (ROSI group). M value improved in the ROSI group from 33.4 +/- 3.27 to 40.0 +/- 5.51 micromol/kg min (P = 0.04).


CONCLUSIONS
Rosiglitazone, by improving menstrual cyclicity, hyperandrogenism, insulin resistance and hyperinsulinaemia, represents an alternative treatment for overweight anovulatory women with PCOS and no pregnancy desire.
Rautio
K
K
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland.
Tapanainen
J S
JS
Ruokonen
A
A
Morin-Papunen
L C
LC
D019326:17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone / Q000097:blood; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D019540:Area Under Curve; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000097:blood; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D050177:Overweight; D010919:Placebos; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D000077154:Rosiglitazone; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin / Q000096:biosynthesis; D045162:Thiazolidinediones / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D010919:Placebos; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin; D045162:Thiazolidinediones; D000077154:Rosiglitazone; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D019326:17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone