title: The elasticity of cervical-vaginal secretions is abnormal in polycystic ovary syndrome: Case report of five PCOS women.
abstract: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a leading cause of infertility. We studied the rheological properties of cervical-vaginal secretions in five PCOS patients during variable treatment intervals with metformin. Five ovulatory normal women for a total of thirteen cycles served as control patients. All subjects collected daily cervical-vaginal fluid(CVF) samples with an aspirator, and CVF samples were characterized by a flow metric, die swell ratio (B), which measured CVF elasticity. Ovulatory cycles were indexed to the day of positive urine or serum LH (luteinizing hormone). CVF B levels from ovulatory normal women had a characteristic concave parabolic pattern of a minimum near the day of ovulation with higher values outside the periovulatory phase. In contrast, the five PCOS patients with or without metformin treatment had no periodicity of CVF B, and their CVF B levels were typically less compared to those in the early preovulatory and luteal phases of normal patients.
authors.affiliation: Whitacre College of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Nabila
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shamim
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Usala
authors.forename: William C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Biggs
authors.forename: Gregory B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: McKenna